Chamber and committees

I, too, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the minister. It is a strange fact that it seems to be only at the end of the parliamentary session that any of us is able to express our respect or friendship for one other.

I thought that the First Minister was about to make an intervention there.

I pay tribute to Natalie Don-Innes, who, as has been mentioned, did a great job as convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. She should also be proud of the work that she has done as a minister and the example that she has set. We often talk in the chamber about lived experience, and it is sometimes thrown around as evidential proof of what we are trying to achieve. I know that the minister has brought that to her role. It is especially important for kinship care, which is one of the aspects of the bill that many of us feel is not where it should be. However, I know that the minister has set in course actions and work that will make sure that that is taken forward.

Other members have already touched on the fact that this is not the complete Promise. This is not us being able to stand up and say that we have collectively kept the Promise. We need to dedicate ourselves to doing that in the next parliamentary session. All the young people who are watching or listening to the debate should know that they are the ones who have driven the change and made every politician from every political party that is represented in the Parliament commit to keeping the Promise and making it a reality.

I have been inspired by every single young person I have met during my time working on the bill. There was the young man who told me that he was studying law and then joked that Scotland needs more lawyers, who has seen how the Promise has made a difference in enabling him to go on to study. Then there were the two sisters whom Paul McLennan and I met at an event in Parliament with the Education, Children and Young People Committee, who demonstrated that we are seeing welcome progress on keeping siblings together, which is something that Parliament demanded.

There is a lot more that we should and must do to make sure that the bill achieves what it has to achieve. As I said, kinship care is an area that I think is important. I met some kinship care families this morning, and I am still concerned about what we are seeing and about the postcode lottery that we all want to be addressed. It is unacceptable that we still see huge variation between local authority areas in what is being delivered for care-experienced young people, from support stopping at 16 or 18 to councils not making sure that support continues up to 21, as is the case in foster care.

We can and must have a far better vision for kinship carers, especially families. At the committee, the minister and I sat in a round-table meeting with kinship care families. It is a story that I repeat, and it sticks with me as one of the main things that has made me think that we, who are doing this job, can always do better. A grandparent told us that, at 3 in the morning, the police arrived at her door with her half-naked grandchild, handed her over and that was it. She had to put together a package, leave her job, rally round and get the support that she needed. She fought for absolutely everything. It should not be like that.

I hope that the opportunities that the minister has outlined—the kinship care vision, the awareness and the visibility of support, and some of the changes that the Government intends to make, especially around providing clearer local support offers, proactively supplying information and improving consistency and transparency—will make the difference. However, if they do not, I intend to make sure that the next bill does more for kinship care families. It is the only way that we can make sure that they will be supported. We can pass legislation, but we need to make sure that attitudes change, and the Promise can build on what the legislation has done.

In the past few years, I have chaired and been involved in many meetings with people who work in social work and across our public sector, who talk about the Promise and their ambitions to meet it. It comes down to resources, and it always will. However, those people are collectively committed to keeping the Promise, and we cannot put to one side the concern, which has been expressed by COSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and others, that delivering the Promise on the ground will be the major challenge of the next parliamentary session.

Tonight, I hope that Parliament can and will reaffirm our support for delivering the Promise. I hope that every care-experienced young person who is watching or listening to the debate will see that their Parliament continues to work to progress towards delivering the Promise by 2030. I know that there is frustration at the lack of progress in many areas of delivery on the ground and on reforms. However, we are all committed to this, and I hope that we can send a clear message to care-experienced young people that we care about them and that we will make sure that, by 2030, the Promise is delivered.

I, too, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the minister. It is a strange fact that it seems to be only at the end of the parliamentary session that any of us is able to express our respect or friendship for one other.

I thought that the First Minister was about to make an intervention there.

I pay tribute to Natalie Don-Innes, who, as has been mentioned, did a great job as convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. She should also be proud of the work that she has done as a minister and the example that she has set. We often talk in the chamber about lived experience, and it is sometimes thrown around as evidential proof of what we are trying to achieve. I know that the minister has brought that to her role. It is especially important for kinship care, which is one of the aspects of the bill that many of us feel is not where it should be. However, I know that the minister has set in course actions and work that will make sure that that is taken forward.

Other members have already touched on the fact that this is not the complete Promise. This is not us being able to stand up and say that we have collectively kept the Promise. We need to dedicate ourselves to doing that in the next parliamentary session. All the young people who are watching or listening to the debate should know that they are the ones who have driven the change and made every politician from every political party that is represented in the Parliament commit to keeping the Promise and making it a reality.

I have been inspired by every single young person I have met during my time working on the bill. There was the young man who told me that he was studying law and then joked that Scotland needs more lawyers, who has seen how the Promise has made a difference in enabling him to go on to study. Then there were the two sisters whom Paul McLennan and I met at an event in Parliament with the Education, Children and Young People Committee, who demonstrated that we are seeing welcome progress on keeping siblings together, which is something that Parliament demanded.

There is a lot more that we should and must do to make sure that the bill achieves what it has to achieve. As I said, kinship care is an area that I think is important. I met some kinship care families this morning, and I am still concerned about what we are seeing and about the postcode lottery that we all want to be addressed. It is unacceptable that we still see huge variation between local authority areas in what is being delivered for care-experienced young people, from support stopping at 16 or 18 to councils not making sure that support continues up to 21, as is the case in foster care.

We can and must have a far better vision for kinship carers, especially families. At the committee, the minister and I sat in a round-table meeting with kinship care families. It is a story that I repeat, and it sticks with me as one of the main things that has made me think that we, who are doing this job, can always do better. A grandparent told us that, at 3 in the morning, the police arrived at her door with her half-naked grandchild, handed her over and that was it. She had to put together a package, leave her job, rally round and get the support that she needed. She fought for absolutely everything. It should not be like that.

I hope that the opportunities that the minister has outlined—the kinship care vision, the awareness and the visibility of support, and some of the changes that the Government intends to make, especially around providing clearer local support offers, proactively supplying information and improving consistency and transparency—will make the difference. However, if they do not, I intend to make sure that the next bill does more for kinship care families. It is the only way that we can make sure that they will be supported. We can pass legislation, but we need to make sure that attitudes change, and the Promise can build on what the legislation has done.

In the past few years, I have chaired and been involved in many meetings with people who work in social work and across our public sector, who talk about the Promise and their ambitions to meet it. It comes down to resources, and it always will. However, those people are collectively committed to keeping the Promise, and we cannot put to one side the concern, which has been expressed by COSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and others, that delivering the Promise on the ground will be the major challenge of the next parliamentary session.

Tonight, I hope that Parliament can and will reaffirm our support for delivering the Promise. I hope that every care-experienced young person who is watching or listening to the debate will see that their Parliament continues to work to progress towards delivering the Promise by 2030. I know that there is frustration at the lack of progress in many areas of delivery on the ground and on reforms. However, we are all committed to this, and I hope that we can send a clear message to care-experienced young people that we care about them and that we will make sure that, by 2030, the Promise is delivered.

I, too, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the minister. It is a strange fact that it seems to be only at the end of the parliamentary session that any of us is able to express our respect or friendship for one other.

I thought that the First Minister was about to make an intervention there.

I pay tribute to Natalie Don-Innes, who, as has been mentioned, did a great job as convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. She should also be proud of the work that she has done as a minister and the example that she has set. We often talk in the chamber about lived experience, and it is sometimes thrown around as evidential proof of what we are trying to achieve. I know that the minister has brought that to her role. It is especially important for kinship care, which is one of the aspects of the bill that many of us feel is not where it should be. However, I know that the minister has set in course actions and work that will make sure that that is taken forward.

Other members have already touched on the fact that this is not the complete Promise. This is not us being able to stand up and say that we have collectively kept the Promise. We need to dedicate ourselves to doing that in the next parliamentary session. All the young people who are watching or listening to the debate should know that they are the ones who have driven the change and made every politician from every political party that is represented in the Parliament commit to keeping the Promise and making it a reality.

I have been inspired by every single young person I have met during my time working on the bill. There was the young man who told me that he was studying law and then joked that Scotland needs more lawyers, who has seen how the Promise has made a difference in enabling him to go on to study. Then there were the two sisters whom Paul McLennan and I met at an event in Parliament with the Education, Children and Young People Committee, who demonstrated that we are seeing welcome progress on keeping siblings together, which is something that Parliament demanded.

There is a lot more that we should and must do to make sure that the bill achieves what it has to achieve. As I said, kinship care is an area that I think is important. I met some kinship care families this morning, and I am still concerned about what we are seeing and about the postcode lottery that we all want to be addressed. It is unacceptable that we still see huge variation between local authority areas in what is being delivered for care-experienced young people, from support stopping at 16 or 18 to councils not making sure that support continues up to 21, as is the case in foster care.

We can and must have a far better vision for kinship carers, especially families. At the committee, the minister and I sat in a round-table meeting with kinship care families. It is a story that I repeat, and it sticks with me as one of the main things that has made me think that we, who are doing this job, can always do better. A grandparent told us that, at 3 in the morning, the police arrived at her door with her half-naked grandchild, handed her over and that was it. She had to put together a package, leave her job, rally round and get the support that she needed. She fought for absolutely everything. It should not be like that.

I hope that the opportunities that the minister has outlined—the kinship care vision, the awareness and the visibility of support, and some of the changes that the Government intends to make, especially around providing clearer local support offers, proactively supplying information and improving consistency and transparency—will make the difference. However, if they do not, I intend to make sure that the next bill does more for kinship care families. It is the only way that we can make sure that they will be supported. We can pass legislation, but we need to make sure that attitudes change, and the Promise can build on what the legislation has done.

In the past few years, I have chaired and been involved in many meetings with people who work in social work and across our public sector, who talk about the Promise and their ambitions to meet it. It comes down to resources, and it always will. However, those people are collectively committed to keeping the Promise, and we cannot put to one side the concern, which has been expressed by COSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and others, that delivering the Promise on the ground will be the major challenge of the next parliamentary session.

Tonight, I hope that Parliament can and will reaffirm our support for delivering the Promise. I hope that every care-experienced young person who is watching or listening to the debate will see that their Parliament continues to work to progress towards delivering the Promise by 2030. I know that there is frustration at the lack of progress in many areas of delivery on the ground and on reforms. However, we are all committed to this, and I hope that we can send a clear message to care-experienced young people that we care about them and that we will make sure that, by 2030, the Promise is delivered.

I, too, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the minister. It is a strange fact that it seems to be only at the end of the parliamentary session that any of us is able to express our respect or friendship for one other.

I thought that the First Minister was about to make an intervention there.

I pay tribute to Natalie Don-Innes, who, as has been mentioned, did a great job as convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. She should also be proud of the work that she has done as a minister and the example that she has set. We often talk in the chamber about lived experience, and it is sometimes thrown around as evidential proof of what we are trying to achieve. I know that the minister has brought that to her role. It is especially important for kinship care, which is one of the aspects of the bill that many of us feel is not where it should be. However, I know that the minister has set in course actions and work that will make sure that that is taken forward.

Other members have already touched on the fact that this is not the complete Promise. This is not us being able to stand up and say that we have collectively kept the Promise. We need to dedicate ourselves to doing that in the next parliamentary session. All the young people who are watching or listening to the debate should know that they are the ones who have driven the change and made every politician from every political party that is represented in the Parliament commit to keeping the Promise and making it a reality.

I have been inspired by every single young person I have met during my time working on the bill. There was the young man who told me that he was studying law and then joked that Scotland needs more lawyers, who has seen how the Promise has made a difference in enabling him to go on to study. Then there were the two sisters whom Paul McLennan and I met at an event in Parliament with the Education, Children and Young People Committee, who demonstrated that we are seeing welcome progress on keeping siblings together, which is something that Parliament demanded.

There is a lot more that we should and must do to make sure that the bill achieves what it has to achieve. As I said, kinship care is an area that I think is important. I met some kinship care families this morning, and I am still concerned about what we are seeing and about the postcode lottery that we all want to be addressed. It is unacceptable that we still see huge variation between local authority areas in what is being delivered for care-experienced young people, from support stopping at 16 or 18 to councils not making sure that support continues up to 21, as is the case in foster care.

We can and must have a far better vision for kinship carers, especially families. At the committee, the minister and I sat in a round-table meeting with kinship care families. It is a story that I repeat, and it sticks with me as one of the main things that has made me think that we, who are doing this job, can always do better. A grandparent told us that, at 3 in the morning, the police arrived at her door with her half-naked grandchild, handed her over and that was it. She had to put together a package, leave her job, rally round and get the support that she needed. She fought for absolutely everything. It should not be like that.

I hope that the opportunities that the minister has outlined—the kinship care vision, the awareness and the visibility of support, and some of the changes that the Government intends to make, especially around providing clearer local support offers, proactively supplying information and improving consistency and transparency—will make the difference. However, if they do not, I intend to make sure that the next bill does more for kinship care families. It is the only way that we can make sure that they will be supported. We can pass legislation, but we need to make sure that attitudes change, and the Promise can build on what the legislation has done.

In the past few years, I have chaired and been involved in many meetings with people who work in social work and across our public sector, who talk about the Promise and their ambitions to meet it. It comes down to resources, and it always will. However, those people are collectively committed to keeping the Promise, and we cannot put to one side the concern, which has been expressed by COSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and others, that delivering the Promise on the ground will be the major challenge of the next parliamentary session.

Tonight, I hope that Parliament can and will reaffirm our support for delivering the Promise. I hope that every care-experienced young person who is watching or listening to the debate will see that their Parliament continues to work to progress towards delivering the Promise by 2030. I know that there is frustration at the lack of progress in many areas of delivery on the ground and on reforms. However, we are all committed to this, and I hope that we can send a clear message to care-experienced young people that we care about them and that we will make sure that, by 2030, the Promise is delivered.

I, too, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the minister. It is a strange fact that it seems to be only at the end of the parliamentary session that any of us is able to express our respect or friendship for one other.

I thought that the First Minister was about to make an intervention there.

I pay tribute to Natalie Don-Innes, who, as has been mentioned, did a great job as convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. She should also be proud of the work that she has done as a minister and the example that she has set. We often talk in the chamber about lived experience, and it is sometimes thrown around as evidential proof of what we are trying to achieve. I know that the minister has brought that to her role. It is especially important for kinship care, which is one of the aspects of the bill that many of us feel is not where it should be. However, I know that the minister has set in course actions and work that will make sure that that is taken forward.

Other members have already touched on the fact that this is not the complete Promise. This is not us being able to stand up and say that we have collectively kept the Promise. We need to dedicate ourselves to doing that in the next parliamentary session. All the young people who are watching or listening to the debate should know that they are the ones who have driven the change and made every politician from every political party that is represented in the Parliament commit to keeping the Promise and making it a reality.

I have been inspired by every single young person I have met during my time working on the bill. There was the young man who told me that he was studying law and then joked that Scotland needs more lawyers, who has seen how the Promise has made a difference in enabling him to go on to study. Then there were the two sisters whom Paul McLennan and I met at an event in Parliament with the Education, Children and Young People Committee, who demonstrated that we are seeing welcome progress on keeping siblings together, which is something that Parliament demanded.

There is a lot more that we should and must do to make sure that the bill achieves what it has to achieve. As I said, kinship care is an area that I think is important. I met some kinship care families this morning, and I am still concerned about what we are seeing and about the postcode lottery that we all want to be addressed. It is unacceptable that we still see huge variation between local authority areas in what is being delivered for care-experienced young people, from support stopping at 16 or 18 to councils not making sure that support continues up to 21, as is the case in foster care.

We can and must have a far better vision for kinship carers, especially families. At the committee, the minister and I sat in a round-table meeting with kinship care families. It is a story that I repeat, and it sticks with me as one of the main things that has made me think that we, who are doing this job, can always do better. A grandparent told us that, at 3 in the morning, the police arrived at her door with her half-naked grandchild, handed her over and that was it. She had to put together a package, leave her job, rally round and get the support that she needed. She fought for absolutely everything. It should not be like that.

I hope that the opportunities that the minister has outlined—the kinship care vision, the awareness and the visibility of support, and some of the changes that the Government intends to make, especially around providing clearer local support offers, proactively supplying information and improving consistency and transparency—will make the difference. However, if they do not, I intend to make sure that the next bill does more for kinship care families. It is the only way that we can make sure that they will be supported. We can pass legislation, but we need to make sure that attitudes change, and the Promise can build on what the legislation has done.

In the past few years, I have chaired and been involved in many meetings with people who work in social work and across our public sector, who talk about the Promise and their ambitions to meet it. It comes down to resources, and it always will. However, those people are collectively committed to keeping the Promise, and we cannot put to one side the concern, which has been expressed by COSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and others, that delivering the Promise on the ground will be the major challenge of the next parliamentary session.

Tonight, I hope that Parliament can and will reaffirm our support for delivering the Promise. I hope that every care-experienced young person who is watching or listening to the debate will see that their Parliament continues to work to progress towards delivering the Promise by 2030. I know that there is frustration at the lack of progress in many areas of delivery on the ground and on reforms. However, we are all committed to this, and I hope that we can send a clear message to care-experienced young people that we care about them and that we will make sure that, by 2030, the Promise is delivered.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make an announcement regarding the development of the Sheriffhall junction before the end of the parliamentary session. (S6O-05675)

This is my fifth attempt to get a decision on that before we hit the election period. From speaking to drivers across my Lothian region, who are spending hours of their time caught up in traffic every month, I know that there is growing frustration that we have not seen work begin on that upgrade. I welcome the answer that the cabinet secretary outlined to Parliament. That work must be made a priority for the next Government and Parliament, and I hope that the next Government will be able to give the green light to what will be a vital upgrade. Is the cabinet secretary aware of when in the next parliamentary session that decision will be made?

I am pleased to speak to amendment 79 and the other amendments in my name in this group, which relates to family group decision making. As the minister and Willie Rennie have pointed out, family group decision making is a well-established approach that has been used by some local authorities in Scotland—including my own here in Edinburgh—over a number of years to bring families together to make plans for children where there are serious concerns about their wellbeing.

My amendments in this group focus on strengthening transparency and accountability in how family group decision making is used, and on ensuring that we all tie in to the same definition of the service. My amendment 84 would require the Scottish ministers to publish and lay before Parliament information on the use of FGDM nationally within three years of royal assent. That would help Parliament and the public to better understand how this important service is being provided across Scotland and where it could be strengthened. My amendments would also make technical changes to reflect the definition of family group decision-making services that the minister’s amendment 10 will add to the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

Importantly, my amendments form part of a cross-party package of proposals in the group, and I believe that the overall package of measures now strikes the right balance. It will improve visibility and understanding of family group decision making while continuing to respect the professional judgment of those who work with our children and families.

I welcome the constructive discussions that have taken place across the parties, and I especially thank the minister for moving the agenda forward. I also put on record my thanks to organisations that support children and families, particularly Children First, which has long advocated for the wider use of family group decision making. I look forward to supporting the wider package in the group.

Amendment 10 agreed to.

Amendments 94 and 95 moved—[Willie Rennie]—and agreed to.

Section A1—Kinship care needs assessment

The evidence that we took at committee demonstrated some of the concerns about the Welsh model. Although the Scottish Government has not directly taken that forward, the approach may present a loss of capacity if we are not careful. That is the last thing that any of us wants.

What safeguards will ministers have in place? If the bill causes organisations to move away from Scotland, who will pick up the need for that additional capacity?

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I will do as Jackie Dunbar just did, but speak as an Edinburgh MSP to place on the record the amazing work that Spartans does across north Edinburgh. During the pandemic, most of us were blown away by how the community used you as a hub and how that transformed a lot of outcomes. I am full of praise for everything that goes on.

I have a couple of questions about capacity building that link to what I just said. I know from speaking to other youth work organisations that they are concerned that there is often a lack of facilities. Debbi, you are lucky to have Ainslie park as a base for people to come to, because they know where you are, but other groups do not have such facilities. What could change? I often get complaints from different parts of Edinburgh about lack of access to the school estate. Mark, you spoke about how the overheads involved in running a facility can mean that you may not be able to move forward. You are in both a lucky position but, based on your experience, is there more that we could do with the school estate or other community-owned public spaces to facilitate more work?