Twenty five children in Orkney were in looked after care last year (data 31 July 2024) .

Looking at the other two islands authorities for the same period, the number of looked after children was: Shetland 31, and Na h-Eileanan an Iar 40. The total for the whole of Scotland was 11,844.

There are many reasons why a child might be referred to the Local Authority as requiring care, including:

• facing abuse or neglect at home
• having disabilities that require special care
• unaccompanied minors seeking asylum, or illegally trafficked into the UK
• involvement in the youth justice system

Of the 11,844 children in Scotland who were looked after, 20% were placed at home and 80% away from home, the lowest this figure has been since 2006.

The majority of looked after children (89%) were placed in community settings. The most common community placements for looked after children were: kinship care (35%), foster care (22%), and at home with parents (20%). A smaller proportion of children (11%) were looked after in residential accommodation settings. The number of children in looked after care has decreased slightly.

Most of the children have a Care Plan, although not all do.

Some of those care plans may have been in progress when the data was collected, however, every child who is being looked after by the local authority must have a care plan. The child, the parents and the prospective carers (if the child will be living away from home) should be involved in producing the care plan. You can find out more about that on this link including the Rights of the Child, and the Rights of the Parents.

Over half the children who are in looked after care live in the most deprived areas of Scotland.

Age	Number in Looked After Care
under 1	303
1	442
2	403
3	457
4	442
5	465
6	467
7	554
8	609
9	602
10	637
11	729
12	735
13	857
14	965
15	1,076
16	1,029
17	933
18+	139
All	11,844

A care leaver in Scotland is a young person who left care on or at any time after, their sixteenth birthday. If they are aged between 16 and 19 they are eligible for aftercare. This is why Care Plans are so important so that they have support and advice on what happens next – a Pathway Plan.

Care leavers aged between 19 and 26 may also be eligible for aftercare and for this the local authority must then carry out an ‘eligible needs assessment’. Click on this link to find out more about Care after the age of 16.

Last year 967 young people aged 16 years or over ceased to be looked after and were eligible for continuing care: 33% (315) entered continuing care.

The data used to produce the statistics was collected from 32 local authorities across Scotland. The figures refer to the reporting year 01 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.

On the fifth anniversary of ‘The Promise’, 5 February 2025, First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, reaffirmed the commitment of the Scottish Government to Keeping the Promise:

It was a pledge to transform the way families are supported by 2030.

John Swinney said:

“The work we have undertaken has meant that a number of changes have been made in justice, in education and in health to support those with experience of care and the people who work with them, but I am very aware we need to do much more to address the complex challenges that still exist.

“As part of that, we need to create the conditions for innovation and change that best meet the needs of our communities – change that ensures families receive the right support, at the right time, and for as long as they need that support.

“Whole Family Wellbeing Funding is making an important contribution to the work that will help us deliver on our commitment to keep The Promise by 2030. Children’s Services Planning Partnerships are receiving more of that money over the next two years because of their understanding of the services that will best support families in their local areas.”

In 2021, a year after The Promise, an Oversight Board was set up to charter the progress of the actions taken. In its third report it found that:

“unexpected events and systematic barriers have delayed implementation of this promise.

“In particular, it found that issues impacting the workforce and whole family support have meant the promise is not halfway to being kept— despite 2025 marking the halfway point to 2030.

“However, the Board still remains confident that the promise can be kept, having seen the progress that has been made and the restated commitment of those responsible for delivering it.”

The Oversight Board reported that too many people cannot access the right family support when they need it, facing:

• housing barriers,
• issues with support for kinship, adoption, and foster carers,
• gaps in data to understand what really matters to children and families.

Short-term funding cycles have also been highlighted as an issue, with some in the workforce having to repeatedly secure funding, rather than using that focus to concentrate on the families they support.

Services are stretched, and pressure is growing. The cost-of-living crisis has pushed more children, young people and families into poverty, and the workforce needs targeted investment and a national strategy— rather than cuts.

Additionally, there are continuing issues with social worker retention and recruitment, as well as foster carer numbers.

However, the report also found positive changes. Among these were:

• the new national minimum recommended allowance for foster carers and kinship carers.
• work from the community of practice for siblings to keep brothers and sisters together

David Anderson, Chair of The Oversight Board, said:

“We remain determined that the promise must be kept. This is about Scotland’s children and young people: there is no task which is more important, and not a moment left to waste.”

Fiona Grahame