Chamber and committees

Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill - Financial Memorandum

Overview

The Bill as introduced changes the services and support provided to people in the children's care system, or who have ever had experience of that system. Those changes include:

• giving people who left the care system before their 16th birthday the right to apply for aftercare;
• requiring Scottish Ministers to ensure care-experienced people have access to advocacy services;
• requiring Scottish Ministers to publish guidance which promotes understanding of “care” and “care experience”;
• giving Scottish Ministers powers to limit the profits that can be made from children’s residential care;
• requiring fostering services to register as charities;
• giving Scottish Ministers the power to create a register of foster carers;
• making changes to the children’s hearings system.

The Bill also sets out that integration joint boards are responsible for children’s services planning, alongside local authorities and health boards.

Financial Memorandum

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).

Read the FM for this Bill: Financial Memorandum.

Your Views

The Committee's call for views closed on Monday 1 September 2025.

The Committee received 8 submissions to its call for views. Read the submissions on Citizen Space.

Correspondence

The Committee agreed to write to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on issues raised in the written submissions:

Letter from the Convener to the Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee of 30 October 2025