Current status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 28 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the progress made by (a) local authorities and (b) partner organisations in embedding the principles of The Promise in their policies and practices.
The Scottish Government works closely with local authorities and partner organisations to embed the principles of The Promise in their policies and practices.
I regularly meet with Councillor Tony Buchanan, the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People, to discuss progress and how we can work together to recognise and share good practice.
There is a large amount of positive work underway across Scotland through local authorities, partnerships and across the public and third sector. During my time in office I have had the honour to meet with children, young people, families and workforce across the country to see and hear of the impact of the projects and initiatives that are underway.
This includes work supported by our multi-year commitment to funding Children’s Services Planning Partnerships to transform family support in their local areas which was recently raised from £32 m to £38 m a year.
Children’s Services Planning Partnerships and local authority Promise teams capture local progress that they are undertaking and for example, I am aware that Renfrewshire recently published their Promise Report for 2025 which highlights all of the activity that they have undertaken over the past 5 years.
Understanding both good practice and the barriers and challenges to change is essential to support the next stages of national and local progress. While there is excellent work happening at local authority level, I am aware that there needs to be more consistency with progress across the country. I continue to encourage local authorities to share and learn from each other to make this happen.
I have asked The Promise Scotland to provide a picture of the activity underway in localities across Scotland to keep The Promise. This will draw on a range of sources as well as being informed by insights.
The Promise Progress Framework, which was published in December, will be instrumental in understanding how we are keeping The Promise and I welcome the recent recognition from the Promise Oversight Board of the important role that this will take.
The Framework has been developed by COSLA, The Scottish Government and The Promise Scotland, with input from key stakeholders including local authorities, Public Health Scotland, the Improvement Service, CELCIS, Who Cares? Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
The Scottish Government’s Statutory Guidance on Corporate Parenting sets out how local authorities and public bodies consider their contribution towards providing safe, secure, stable and nurturing homes for young people leaving care. As corporate parents, all public bodies have a collective responsibility to help shape lives and provide opportunities for our children living in care and care leavers.
In January, the Scottish Government published the third statutory corporate parenting report which outlines the activity across Scotland by the Scottish Government and Executive Agencies, as well as other public bodies, to help uphold the rights and secure the wellbeing of children and young people in care and care leavers.
The Scottish Government provides Who Cares? Scotland with grant funding to deliver support and training to Corporate Parents.