Current status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 23 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether all local authorities record instances of looked after children being separated from siblings, and, if not, which local authorities do not yet do so, and by when it anticipates that all local authorities will routinely record this data.
The Scottish Government’s National Practice Guidance on siblings and the Looked after Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 highlights the importance of recording information about a child’s brothers and sisters.
From 2023-2024, data reported by all local authorities to Scottish Government as part of their annual Looked after Children Statistics (CLAS) return will include data on the number of siblings living apart from each other.