The Promise demands co-ordinated action but will be kept – Scottish Government

A long-term commitment to transform the care system for children and young people will be kept “but it demands co-ordinated action”, the Scottish Government has said.

Siobhian Brown, minister for children and young people, announced the formation of a new delivery coalition to accelerate progress towards keeping the Promise – a landmark report which followed Scotland’s independent care review – by 2030.

Ms Brown told the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday: “I can announce today that in November we will launch a new delivery coalition, chaired by the cabinet secretary and I, bringing together partners from across national and local government, public services, the third sector, and people with lived experience.

“The coalition will provide a dedicated forum to strengthen collaboration, drive collective action and accelerate progress towards keeping the Promise by 2030.

“The Promise can be kept, but it demands co-ordinated action. This Government remains determined to lead, to work with our partners, to challenge, to continue to listen to children, families and care-experienced people.

“By 2030, the ultimate test will be whether change is felt by the children and the young people at the heart of the Promise.”

In 2017, the independent care review was established and the Scottish Government passed the Promise legislation to ensure all the conclusions of the review would be implemented, in full, by 2030.

The statement comes after a report from the oversight board to the Promise published in September said there is a “real but narrowing opportunity for this Parliament to demonstrate what Scotland is capable of when it turns commitment into change in people’s lives”.

Scottish Labour referenced the report and said that if the Promise is to be kept “we need action now”.

Scottish Labour MSP Katherine Sangster said: “The Promise oversight board is clear. It is the next six to 18 months that will determine whether the Promise being kept remains possible.

“In the minister’s statement, she said that the Government will be crystal clear on the actions that they will take by 2030. If the Promise is to be kept, we need action now.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Duncan Dunlop was also critical of the Scottish Government’s statement, which he said contains “ad-hoc actions”.

Mr Dunlop said: “On October 15 2016, I led care-experienced people into the SNP conference to hear Nicola Sturgeon commit to ripping up the care system and that we would not have to wait for change.

“A child aged five then is now 15. The minister talks of commitment to action to drive change and implement legislation, but for those children they have been hearing these empty promises for years.”

He added: “The statement actually contains ad-hoc actions that the Government have patched together as positive signs of progress. They do not amount to ripping up the system.”