Right to lifelong advocacy and enhanced support for all care leavers
A lifelong entitlement to advocacy services for all care experienced people will ensure their voices are better heard after MSPs backed landmark legislation to accelerate delivery of ‘the Promise’.
The Children (Care, Care Experience, and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill underpins delivery of the Scottish Government’s response to the independent care review, and commitment to keep the Promise. The Bill was passed in a final Stage 3 vote in the Scottish Parliament.
The Bill will extend aftercare support currently available for 16-to-26 year olds who were in care on their 16th birthday to those who had left care before that point – including help with accommodation, education, employment and wellbeing.
It includes provisions to drive reforms to the Children’s Hearing System, including remunerated Panel chairs to help reduce delays and increase capacity, to ensure the system better meet the needs of children and families.
Residential childcare providers will have to provide financial information to Ministers, and a Residential Childcare Futures Reference Group will be established.
This group will draw together partners from national and local government, social work, and organisations representing care-experienced people to ensure the needs of children and young people are foremost in residential care.
It will consider definitions of profit and provide future advice to Ministers on further regulation to limit profit.
Natalie Don-Innes, Minister for Children, Young People & The Promise said: “This legislation will deliver a very strong package of further change that will help improve the lives of people across Scotland with care experience and those who care for them. It represents a significant milestone and will accelerate progress towards keeping the Promise.
“I am grateful to everyone across the care experienced community who helped to shape the Bill, and to MSPs across the Parliament whose engagement has resulted in a legislative package that will help greatly improve the support available.
“This legislation is an essential part of our wider on-going programme of work to keep the Promise, and will help to deliver the change which the 5,500 voices that informed the Independent Care Review told us must happen.”
Discussions with MSPs from across the chamber led to Scottish Government amendments to the Bill, which will deliver enhanced support for kinship carers. These include strengthening the role of family group decision making, and making it easier for eligible kinship families to access financial, practical and advocacy support through a comprehensive needs-based assessment from their local authority.
