- Partnership to accelerate progress for care-experienced
people
Organisations across Scotland can capitalise on the opportunities
afforded by public service reform to improve the lives of care
experienced people, Minister for the Promise has said.
Addressing Parliament as Scotland marks Care Experienced Week, Ms
Brown announced the formation of a new delivery coalition to
accelerate progress towards keeping the Promise by 2030. In light
of the action needed across the public sector to support
care-experienced people, the coalition will seek to
understand and connect important work already underway while
providing a forum of expertise in the provision of children and
family services.
The Minister also highlighted progress to date, including:
- introducing the £2,000 Care Leaver Payment, as well as a
national minimum allowance for eligible foster and kinship carers
through the Scottish Recommended Allowance
- investing more than £30 million in Bairns' Hooses
- providing more than £80 million since 2018-19 for mentoring,
outdoor learning and other activities through the Scottish
Attainment Challenge
- increasing the number and percentage of care experienced
university entrants every year since 2016-17, with guaranteed
places for those who meet entry requirements and a £9,000 bursary
- passing the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services
Planning) (Scotland) Act
- ending the placement of children in Young Offender
Institutions.
Ms Brown said:
Scotland's public services are already working to keep the
Promise, but no organisation or body can do this alone. Improving
the lives of care-experienced people requires joined-up action
from the Scottish Government and from across local government and
other public services.
We must use the Public Service Reform agenda to think differently
about how we offer support, how we take decisions better informed
by the voices of young people in care and how we ensure we all
pull together in the same direction.
Through early prevention and early intervention, we must move
away from services that wait until families reach crisis. Our
approach is one where services work together around the needs of
children and families rather than expecting families to navigate
complicated systems themselves.
When something works, we need to understand why and help it
spread. Where progress is too slow, or where a child's experience
of support depends on where in Scotland they live, we need to
understand why and act.
By 2030, the ultimate test will be whether change can be felt by
children and young people at the heart of the Promise. Ensuring
that happens is the task ahead. Together we will keep the
Promise.
Background
The delivery coalition will be chaired jointly by Minister for
the Promise and Education Secretary
Màiri McAllan, bringing together partners from across national
and local government, public services, the third sector and
people with lived experience. Further details will be confirmed
later this year.
