Keep Scotland Beautiful: make Scotland ‘litter-ate’
Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has published a new report on Scotland’s local environmental quality highlighting an avalanche of evidence from its audits from the past two decades which points to a looming litter emergency – hidden in plain sight.
The charity is calling for eight urgent actions to make Scotland ‘litter-ate’ and is urging key stakeholders and communities to join efforts to change the way we behave to tackle unacceptable levels of litter, dog fouling, graffiti, weeds and detritus.
The report ‘Time for a new approach to tackling litter‘ highlights an accelerating decline in standards from 2013 to 2020 – with only 16% of audited sites being recorded as litter free last year compared to 31% in 2013, and dog fouling now found on 3% more streets that in 2013. In addition, results also showed a more marked decline in Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods.
Local environmental quality standards in Scotland were already in decline before the pandemic, now nine months on, as we rely on good quality neighbourhoods for our health and wellbeing, our polling has highlighted that 30% of people believe the overall condition of their local neighbourhood deteriorated during lockdown.
Yet, despite the impact of this ‘lockdown effect’, where people have noticed an increase in the severity and prevalence of poor environmental quality, improved connections have been made with the environment and local neighbourhoods.
And, positively, Keep Scotland Beautiful has come together with others to tackle the rise in flytipping, dog fouling and littering during a challenging year. Building on this as we enter a new year is key to tackling the behaviours behind the looming litter emergency.
This is why the charity has outlined an eight-point cross sector agenda for change to tackle the complex interlinking problems leading to the decline. This includes calls for an: education and behaviour change programme to create a Scotland that is truly litter-ate; a review of the failing model of enforcement; and further collaboration to bring together a reinvigorated Scottish network working together to jointly reverse the decline.
Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautifulsaid, “The increasingly visible new litter type – the single use face mask – has become a symbol of our disregard for Scotland and our fellow citizens.
“The simple truth is that we need to all start questioning our own habits – what we consume, what we throw away, and how we look after our local neighbourhoods – and we need to address the looming litter emergency head on by changing our own behaviours and working together with key partners, to build on the successes of this year.
“We must respect and look after the places that we love if we are to have any hope of solving the global climate and nature crises. Tackling the first can help the latter. We need you to join us to make our communities, businesses and individuals truly litter-ate.”
Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Our relentless consumption of materials is Scotland’s biggest contributor to the climate crisis. The extraction, manufacture and transport of materials is a huge source of carbon emissions and something we could affect by reducing our demand for single-use items.
“It is particularly upsetting that people continue to pollute our streets, parks, streams and rivers, where they continue to cause damage for months and years to come. This needs to stop and we will continue to work with Keep Scotland Beautiful and other partners to find solutions to these issues.”
Keep Scotland Beautiful is committed to continuing efforts to support communities, local authorities, businesses, and national agencies to reverse the decline in environmental quality across Scotland – from rural to urban settings – but your support is needed.
The time to act is now. Scotland is beautiful, and we must all commit to do more to protect and enhance the places we care for.
At the start of 2020 there was a gathering momentum to conversations about the role of kindness and compassion in health and social care in Scotland. When COVID-19 happened, the healthcare system entered a period of rapid transformation in which many of the previously insurmountable ‘barriers’ to kindness appeared to fall away. In this context, it felt important to capture what was happening.
The courage to be kind draws on a series of reflective conversations, conducted between April and September 2020 with five medics working in different parts of NHS Scotland.
The conversations reflected on what can be achieved when there is a common purpose, and when work is underpinned by relationships and collaboration. But alongside the opportunities presented by changes in practice and a renewed focus on wellbeing, there was concern that these may be lost amidst a focus on remobilising and ‘getting back to normal’.
The voices in this report offer a particular perspective. But the depth of reflection, and the clear message about the need to ease some of the pressure in the system in order to ensure the wellbeing of staff and patients is one that resonates with many other conversations and is relevant and urgent right across the health service.
At the end of a year that has demanded so much from our health service, we hope that this report adds to our collective understanding of the impact of COVID-19.
As we look to develop this work, we would really value your thoughts and reflections, which you can share withben.thurman@carnegieuk.org or by joining the debate on twitter @CarnegieUKTrust.
A new report has calculated that churches across Scotland have delivered 212,214 acts of support during lockdown.
The Stories of Hope report, which was requested by the Scottish government and produced by the Evangelical Alliance and Serve Scotland, found that these acts were delivered by 3,212 volunteers and impacted 55,671 beneficiaries.
The study details how churches in over 180 locations, often in partnership with others, developed support networks and established projects to support the most vulnerable and isolated in their communities.
Projects were active across the country from the Highlands to the Borders, across the breadth of denominations and in partnership with a number of charities including CAP Scotland, the Bethany Trust, and Glasgow City Mission.
Kieran Turner, Public Policy Officer for the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland said: “2020 has been a year of disruption for all of us and churches, like many other essential services have had to adapt.
“This report has highlighted the significant impact churches up and down the country have had in supporting the most vulnerable in society.”
The report also highlighted the importance of churches partnering with local businesses and other agencies as more than two-thirds of the projects identified were delivered in partnership to provide support to those in need.
Supermarkets, community councils, businesses, NHS boards, housing associations, voluntary support groups, and food banks have all worked with churches on the ground in these projects. In addition, 11 local authorities were identified, sometimes by multiple projects, as providing emergency funding for weekly support costs.
Kieran Turner continued: “Churches have re-purposed existing services and staff and volunteers have been quickly redeployed. New projects have been set up to deliver food, phone the elderly and isolated, support those homeless or claiming asylum, and connect with children and young people who were struggling with their mental health.
“For many, these services were literally a lifeline – often the only contact in a day when all other normal support networks and buildings were closed.”
Case study: MARIE
Marie is a young mum who lives with her partner and four children in a two bedroom flat in a tower block in Aberdeen.
She first connected with Seaton Community Church through the Mums & toddlers group. When lockdown happened as she faced real financial hardship with a young baby she turned to the church’s packed lunch project for help.
The church provided daily meals and also supported the family through this daily connection with mental, emotional and spiritual support. This lifted a huge financial and emotional pressure off her shoulders and Marie has now become part of the wider church community, watching church online as well building deeper friendships with others locally.
The online survey was gathered data from May 2020 to July 2020 by the Evangelical Alliance with the aim of understanding the range and focus of church-based projects taking place across Scotland during the pandemic.
The report draws together findings from over 80 conversations with people across the UK during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on how organisations and communities were adapting to meet the changing needs of the people around them, as well as the evolving relationships between different sectors.
The report reflects that at the onset of the pandemic, it was often communities who stepped up to offer essential support, such as food and checking in on isolated individuals. The report calls for more partnership working between the public and voluntary sectors and communities: investing in communities to unlock their power.
Looking to the future, the Trust considers how to maintain working together and sharing power across sectoral and professional boundaries. The report highlights actions taken in the pandemic that could be a springboard for moving towards long-held ambitions of partnership working and more people-focused and preventative public sector services.
You can read the full report here and an accessible version is available here.
A blog on the report’s key messages is also available on our website.
We would be delighted to hear your views on the ideas put forward in the report, and you can share the report with your networks over Twitter using the hashtag #COVIDConversations.
Best wishes
Sarah
Sarah Davidson Chief Executive Carnegie UK Trust
For regular updates on all of the Trust’s projects and activities click HERE to subscribe to our bi-monthly e-newsletter.
More than 1,000 children have been waiting more than a year for treatment
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading independent and third sector providers of children’s services, has warned of a “mental health emergency” as new figures indicate that more than 1,000 children and young people have been waiting more than a year for mental health treatment.
The figures from Public Health Scotland also indicate that only one Scottish health board is meeting the Scottish Government’s waiting time target of 18 weeks from referral to treatment over the quarter to September 2020 and two out of five are not being seen within this 18 week target.1
The SCSC has called on the Scottish Government to redouble its efforts and for a “national crusade” to tackle this emergency as the number of referrals return to pre-lockdown levels.
It has also backed calls by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland that £145 million from additional £1.1 billion COVID-19 funding granted in the autumn be applied to mental health services.
While 4,032 children and young people were treated over the period July to September 2020 by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), only 60.6 per cent were seen within the 18-week waiting target and only one health board, NHS Ayrshire and Arran met this target.
The report also highlights that in September 2020, 1,060 children and young people had been waiting more than a year for treatment, up from 632 on the same point last year.3 In addition, 365 had been waiting over a year prior to treatment compared with 220 in the same quarter the previous year.
The SCSC has warned that mental health services will face an overwhelming and unprecedented pressure due to pent-up demand created by the COVID-19 lockdown, coupled with a cut in youth support services. This could potentially lead to a “lost generation” of vulnerable children and young people who are missing out on the support they vitally need.
It has called reiterated its call for a “national crusade”, with the Scottish Government working closely with authorities, including the third and independent sectors, and investing significantly in mental health services. The coalition has also urged that greater awareness is made of the services on offer, especially those at a community level.
The SCSC has warned that self-isolation and social distancing have had an impact on young people struggling with issues such as anxiety and depression. It has noted that even the most resilient children are going to need additional support as they navigate this transition back into whatever is the new normal, and some will need a lot of extra support.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “These latest figures are deeply troubling and point to a highly challenging environment for both our young people and our mental health services.
“While referrals are beginning to return to pre-lockdown levels, it is vital that children and families are provided with the support they so desperately need, especially given the impact of the pandemic on mental health. The fact that more than 1,000 of our most vulnerable children have been waiting more than a year for treatment in this respect is deeply troubling.
“We would urge the Scottish Government to look to not just the NHS, but the third sector and other independent organisations to play a key role in this. Our mental health services must receive the funding they vitally need or we face a ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people.”
Waiting times (with adjustments) for people who started their treatment from July to September 2020, by NHS Board of treatment:
Health board
Total number seen
% seen within 18 weeks
NHS Island boards
62
83.9%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
95
88.4%
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
233
91.9%
NHS Lanarkshire
248
62.1%
NHS Lothian
518
59.5%
NHS Grampian
343
85.7%
NHS Fife
274
63.9%
NHS Forth Valley
182
40.1%
NHS Borders
32
71.9%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
1,451
47.6%
NHS Highland
198
74.2%
NHS Tayside
396
57.8%
NHS Scotland
4,032
60.6%
The number of young people waiting for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Lothian has dramatically increased since March this year.
The number of young people waiting 0-18 weeks for mental health support has dropped from 1,223 in March to 963 in September this year. The number of young people waiting over a year to be seen for mental health support has risen from 381 in March earlier this year, to 581 in September, an increase from 14.8% to 21% of young people having to wait over a year.
Waits for young peoples mental health support have been growing over the last two years, but have significantly increased over the last 6 months since Covid-19.
At the start of this year NHS Lothian invested £3 million to hire 40 extra staff including, clinical psychologists, registered nurses and occupational therapists
In September this year Edinburgh Council and Midlothian Council, in partnership with MYPAS, announced pilot schemes for counsellors to be place in schools for this academic year.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said:“In Edinburgh and the Lothians we were already facing a mental health crisis for young people, which has only got worse since Covid-19.
“Young people having to wait over a year to be seen for mental health support is very distressing for the person who is note getting the support they need and their family.
“CAMHS staff work tirelessly to provide invaluable mental health support, but they must be further supported by SNP Ministers and NHS Lothian to meet the high demand for their services.
“Remote mental health support is not the right solution for everybody, but where appropriate this must be fully utilised to reach and support as many young people as possible.
“SNP Ministers have been in charge of our health service for over 13 years, during which time mental health service waiting times for young people have got significantly longer.”
Holyrood’s Festival of Politics starts online tonight
Scotland’s Futures Forum, the Scottish Parliament’s in-house think-tank, has published the findings of its 2030 programme, looking at what sort of country we might become, and what our response might be to the great changes of the next decade and beyond.
The report, which examines the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change, technological innovation and an aging population, will also be debated at the Parliament’s first online Festival of Politics. The event, ‘Scotland 2030: What do we want, and how can we get there?’, opens the Festival today and will be chaired by the Presiding Officer, Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP.
The work, which aims to help parliamentarians think about long term challenges, outside of electoral cycles and party politics, found that:
• Around half a million babies are due to be born in Scotland in the 2020s. To give every one of them the best chance in life, fundamental change is required to end child poverty – either through ‘pre-distribution’ or radical redistribution via taxation and spending. • Technological disruptors such as Uber and Amazon will continue to have an impact on jobs and society. We need a school and lifelong education system that helps people adapt to changing circumstances, giving them the freedom to be creative, to take risks and, on occasion, to fail safely. • To meet our ambitious targets of net zero carbon emissions by 2045, radical change is required in our working lives. There are clear pathways to a more sustainable future if Scotland switches investment towards sectors and industries that bring long-term benefits. • Scotland need to make more progress on creating gender equal workplaces. Realities of life for women such as menstruation, pregnancy and menopause need to be taken more seriously by employers. Increasing the uptake of paternity leave will also help redress imbalances in the distribution of unpaid work • Aging and death need to be addressed earlier in life. Most of us will become dependent on other people as we age. We need to tackle the taboo of discussing these things by normalising planning for this inevitability in our 40s and 50s, if we are to support the right care at the end of life.
The forum is also recommending ten ‘ideas for 2030’ to be debated in the Scottish Parliament from the creative suggestions heard during its events.
These include a Scottish island test site for autonomous vehicles, ‘digital havens’ with limited internet access – allowing visitors to switch off from their devices – and a Museum of Failure to show the role of failure in the path to achievement and encourage people to embrace risk.
Speaking ahead of the Festival, Chair of the Forum and Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP, said:“How we tackle the great issues of the next decade will shape Scotland for generations to come. Climate change, technological advancements and an ageing population all present profound challenges for the country, but also opportunity.
“This report highlights the importance of taking a positive view of the changes we’ll experience by 2030. As the response to the Covid-19 pandemic has shown, people can and do respond positively when life throws up huge challenges. But it has also shown the importance of including people in the process when the decisions on how to respond are made.
“A key part of the Futures Forum’s work, a central theme throughout this programme from all our events, and one of the founding principles on which the Parliament operates, is the importance of including everyone in discussions about our long-term future.
“How we move forward, harness new technologies, create more environmentally sustainable jobs and tackle child poverty are all topics ripe for debate as we look ahead. I am sure it will be a very interesting discussion at this year’s Festival of Politics.”
You can find out more and watch the event in full on the Festival of Politics website here.
The festival takes place from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st November. The first event starts at 7pm tonight.
Race Inequality in the Workforce: Analysing the state of play in the coronavirus economy
The impact of Covid-19 on the labour market has affected specific groups of workers more than others, including those with an ethnic minority background. In this new report, we explore evidence that shows the specific impact that the pandemic has had on Black and ethnic minority workers, demonstrating the ways in which they face a range of additional risks during the economic downturn, in terms of both loss of employment and poorer quality work.
The report makes 11 recommendations for government and employers to ensure that job quality is protected for all and that groups at particular risk are safeguarded.
This short report complements our Good Work for Wellbeing in the Coronavirus Economy report which was launched last month. It seeks to understand how we can ensure the best possible jobs recovery and achieve good work for all in the coronavirus economy.
You can read Race Inequality in the Workforce: Analysing the state of play in the coronavirus economy here.
You can read Good Work for Wellbeing in the Coronavirus Economy here.
Join the conversation on Twitter @CarnegieUKTrust or please feel free to get in touch via Georgina Bowyer, Policy and Development Officer (georgina@carnegieuk.org).
I hope this email finds you safe and well in these difficult times.
I am pleased to share new research from the Carnegie UK Trust, looking at how we can achieve ‘good work’ for all in the UK coronavirus economy.
The coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted jobs and livelihoods, but it has also seen labour market interventions that were previously unimaginable and given rise to calls to build back a better labour market. For our research we interviewed labour market experts including academics, business and trade union representatives and leading think tanks, and undertook analysis of the impacts of the crisis on different groups of workers.
Our report Good Work for Wellbeing in the Coronavirus Economy draws together these insights and presents a package of over 30 proposals for how good work can be achieved and sustained, to ensure work improves wellbeing for many more people.
You can read the report’s key messages and recommendations here
We would be delighted to hear your views on the ideas put forward in the report. You can get in touch with us on Twitter @CarnegieUKTrust, using the hashtag #GoodWork #COVID19 or you can let us know your thoughts by emailing Gail Irvine, Senior Policy and Development Officer, on gail.irvine@carnegieuk.org.
Young people are being reduced to meeting under gazebos and tarpaulins to access vital local services as a new survey reveals a lack of facilities threatens to keep youth work out in the cold this winter.
YouthLink Scotland, Scotland’s National Youth Work Agency, released the latest results of a two-month survey of the youth work sector’s access to facilities, which painted a picture of youth work organisations up and down the country struggling to find appropriate indoor spaces due to confusion over lockdown restrictions.
It has now issued a call for national and local leadership to help the sector overcome the barriers to youth work resuming, with YouthLink CEO Tim Frew warning that a lack of access to facilities threatens to leave young people in Scotland without vital support.
The calls are backed by Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner and See Me, the national mental health charity.
The results show an extremely concerning situation for young people involved in youth work, in particular vulnerable youngsters who rely on that support.
While some youth work organisations had previously been able to offer limited services in public spaces such as cafés, youth workers voiced concerns that even this offers little privacy for vulnerable young people who need intensive support.
Lack of access to appropriate facilities has left many youth work organisations unable to return to face-to-face indoor youth work. Over 50% of council youth work services have not been able to resume, and this rises to over 80% for national voluntary organisations like Scouts, and local voluntary youth work projects across the country.
The survey also revealed that over three-quarters of youth work organisations still have no access to any school facilities, while around 95% remain locked out of local leisure centre facilities.
This is despite Scottish Government guidance enabling indoor face-to-face youth work to resume from 31st August.
The agency says it is not acceptable to leave many vulnerable young people without access to vital support at a time when youth work is needed more than ever, as we face an increasing youth mental health crisis as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
The situation has meant that youth workers are having to deliver services in parks, school grounds, on the streets, using tents, gazebos and tarpaulins for shelter as it gets colder.
It’s clear that although youth work organisations have the necessary risk assessments for practice in place, access to buildings and facilities is still being restricted or denied. Guidance is being interpreted differently in local areas.
Commenting on the findings of the latest survey, Tim Frew, CEO, YouthLink Scotland, the national agency for youth work, said: “We need to move forward and ensure that access to facilities for youth work increases.
“From our survey we can see that almost all youth organisations responsible for facilities have completed risk assessments. Detailed guidance for school facilities and for outdoor centres has been developed.
“For centres where youth work is the tenant and not the landlord we need to understand what the barriers are to their re-opening.
“If the issue is guidance from the Scottish Government on the use of Community Centres, we know that this is in development and is needed urgently. If the issue is more about the cost then we need to ensure that extra funds are found, as we cannot allow for young people to be prevented from accessing youth work when they need it now more an ever.”
Gina Wilson, Head of Strategy for the Children and Young People’s Commissioner said: “Youth workers play a significant role in ensuring children and young people can access their rights to good mental and physical health as well as their educational, social and recreational rights.
“The pandemic has highlighted and further entrenched existing inequalities and providing vital youth work services over the coming winter months and beyond must be a priority to ensure children and young people’s rights are protected and promoted.”
Wendy Halliday, director of mental health charity, See Me said: “At See Me, youth work has been vital in allowing us to tackle the stigma and discrimination that young people can face when they’re struggling with their mental health.
“Youth work provides a platform for young people to speak out about mental health to other young people and to the adults in their lives, while also getting help and support for themselves.
“Through this pandemic more young people than ever are struggling with their mental health and to help those young people it is essential that youth work can resume in a safe way. We know that youth work is key to reaching and engaging young people that can be missed by other services and forms of support, while also connecting young people who can feel alone and isolated.”
Councillor Stephen McCabe, Cosla’s children and young people spokesman, said: “Sadly there is no denying that these are difficult times and we are dealing with an issue the likes of which we have never seen before.
“Councils have an extremely difficult balancing act between supporting local services, their responsibilities as employers and adhering to local restrictions, however, above all else the health and safety of everyone remains our number one priority.
“The best way to get through this is by a collective push and working in partnership both locally and nationally.
“That is what we are committed to continuing to do and why we would be happy to work with YouthLink, Scottish Government and others to find solutions.
“The seriousness of this situation, the speed at which things can change and the pressure on councils are all very real.“
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We recognise the valuable role that the youth work sector has to play in supporting the health and wellbeing of young people in Scotland.
“We are investing £3 million through the Youth Work Education Recovery Fund to ensure youth work services are supported to deliver vital interventions to young people across Scotland.
“Community centre opening guidance is being developed with input from a number of key stakeholders, including YouthLink Scotland.
“Local authorities have responsibility for their buildings, including community centres, and make decisions over what activities can take place in them.”
COMMENTS FROM SURVEY RESPONDENTS:
“Safe and supportive conversations with young people on their own who are grieving, and exploring coping strategies, need to be carried out in a safe, nurturing space and not in the public domain of outdoor pitches or fast-food eateries.”
“Blanket bans on lets for Council-owned properties such as school lets but also some community halls. Groups are responding by only meeting outside or online but this issue will grow as we approach colder and darker evenings after October half term.”
“Outdoor group work has been possible, but with reduced light and poor climate, it is challenging. Youth workers are seeking spaces in coffee shops, supermarkets, and car parks to be able to have shelter/conversations with young people for support and meetings on projects. The digital challenges continue and return to face-to-face is what young people are requesting.”
“Unfortunately we are not providing any youth work at the moment (indoors or outdoors) as we do not have access to any spaces that are classed as safe. The restrictions mean that we can’t host the number of young people we used to and as such the service is struggling to organise youth work opportunities for young people in our area.”
“We remain frustrated at not being able to use our youth centres for indoor youth work. Our local Recovery Group initially granted us access to resume indoor youth groups but have since withdrawn that permission. We are unable to operate school-based youth groups as we don’t have access to school lets in the evening and after school. Only school groups are using our youth centre on a few hours per day.”
“I feel that fear has caused a blanket ban on all group meetings instead of allowing choice and thinking about the needs and capabilities of different groups. All our local Girlguiding units are affected in the same way as we all meet in a hall or community centre.”
“Barriers accessing schools to provide informal learning. Community centres still not opened and youth centres the same. All of our work is still digital. Real want from youth workers to get back to work but no physical spaces to do this.”
“Our group has to rehearse outside in the back playground of our usual venue. The back of the hub is covered in glass from broken alcohol bottles and is clearly a ‘den’ for some. We have to sweep the ground every week and risk assess to ensure the area is safe. There is no sufficient lighting, which is going to pose a major problem when the darker night come in! The area is an old school shed that is no longer in use – there is an old couch and rubbish dumped and it smells of urine! The young people I work with are happy to be together again but it poses a challenge – drama is an activity that requires a space that is safe for them to explore ideas and develop confidence.”
Families’ needs are escalating while support services are diminishing, new research reveals
Children’s charities call on Scottish Government to invest in family support without delay
Years of austerity have had a harrowing impact on vulnerable families in Scotland with some now facing destitution, reveals NSPCC Scotland and Barnardo’s Scotland research published today.
The report, Challenges from the Frontline – Revisited, highlights the devastating impact of the rollout of welfare reform on children and their families and the effects of local government funding cuts on the support available to them.
The research, a snapshot of life before Covid-19, describes rising need in the face of lessening resource, with some families struggling to obtain adequate food, secure housing and basic necessities. Despite long-standing commitment by the Scottish Government to early intervention and parenting support, the research found that too many families were coming to services already at crisis point.
Service managers told researchers that welfare reform had financially punished a whole section of the population.
One said: “…because so many of our families are on universal credit, that does not allow them to have a standard of living that meets the needs of those adults and children within the household. It simply does not.”
Another said: “It’s the poverty and disadvantage that we see now. It was always there, but it’s certainly exacerbated by the welfare reform over the past few years. The rise of foodbanks here is massive. Families use them on a regular basis and you can see that, families who come to us and are really struggling.”
NSPCC Scotland and Barnardo’s Scotland are now calling on the Scottish Government to press ahead, as a matter of urgency, with the Independent Care Review’s vision of making intensive family support available to all who need it.
The review’s Promise report sets out a blueprint of how this should be done.
The children’s charities also say the Scottish Government must articulate a clear vision for family income in Scotland, and set out how – within the current levers available – it will ensure that all families have enough money to live with dignity.
Today’s report compares findings from research carried out with family support services in Scotland in 2013 and 2019. It concludes that in the intervening period severe hardship has affected parents’ mental health and family relationships, so that those now being referred have more complex difficulties and greater needs.
This is amid a landscape of local authorities and other public bodies continuing to face financial challenges. The research found evidence of family support services closing or being offered on a far more limited basis than had been the case in 2013.
Matt Forde, NSPCC Scotland head of service, said: “Our research reveals that families were facing destitution, isolation and mental health struggles before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“We found that against a backdrop of years of austerity there was escalating need for help from families who were struggling with more complex problems, being met with less support than before.
“We know that adverse and traumatic experiences in childhood can have a profound impact on a person’s life.
“And it is crucial this unacceptable situation, now compounded by the Covid-19 crisis, is addressed with a matter of urgency.”
Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “Supporting vulnerable families mitigates social inequality and improves children’s life opportunities.
“The Coronavirus crisis provides a huge opportunity to make meaningful, sustainable, transformative change. We need to harness the desire to do things differently, to reach out to families with a strengthened social safety net to prevent longer term difficulties developing in young people’s lives.
“The Independent Care Review’s Promise has given us a blueprint for family support and we must deliver on this without delay.”
