Chamber and committees

Today marks the first anniversary of the Scottish Government’s national apology to those affected by historic forced adoption practices. I acknowledge the immense pain and suffering that adoptees, mothers and families have endured as a result of these unjust practices. Addressing the harms caused remains a priority for this Government.

The scoping study is one of the sources of evidence that the Scottish Government is using in determining how to best support those affected by historic forced adoption. It is being considered alongside other evidence, including the accompanying service delivery paper , the original consultation exercise held in 2022 and ongoing engagement with campaigners and people with lived experience.

To that end, we are establishing a series of lived experience sessions on historic forced adoption, to be facilitated by the Scottish Government’s Principal Psychological Adviser. The purpose of these sessions is to explore potential collaborative solutions to the issues raised in the scoping study. The sessions will inform the Scottish Government’s policy response and help to determine how we prioritise and sequence this work, alongside our consideration of wider matters such as potential legislative, financial and operational impacts. We anticipate that a particular focus for discussion will be the form of support that is needed to address the emotional and psychological impact of historic forced adoption for adoptees, mothers and families.

A key issue that has been highlighted as part of our engagement is around the challenges of accessing records. As such, both the National Records of Scotland and Scottish Court and Tribunals Service have updated the information that they provide online in order to assist people with the practical aspects of accessing records, as well as signposting to further support. Both organisations will continue to provide access and assistance to adoption records in line with current legislation. We are also exploring what more we can do to ensure people affected by historic forced adoption are able to easily access the right information and support when they need it.

Additionally, the Scottish Government continues to fund the charity, Health in Mind, to provide specialist support through peer support groups. Monthly peer support sessions are now being held for mothers and an adoptees group will begin shortly. The peer support groups are open for self-referrals from those affected and further details are available online at Health in Mind | Historic Adoption Peer Support (health-in-mind.org.uk) .