Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Thursday, May 16, 2024

Official Report 1091KB pdf

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Foster Care Fortnight

I encourage those who are leaving the public gallery to do so as quickly and quietly as possible, as we move on to the next item of business, which is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-13031, in the name of Martin Whitfield, on foster care fortnight. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite members who wish to participate to press their request-to-speak button.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament recognises Foster Care Fortnight, taking place from 13 to 26 May 2024; believes that foster care gives children the opportunity to experience family life in a stable, loving and nurturing home environment, when it is not possible for them to live with their birth families; recognises that the theme for 2024 is #FosteringMoments, which celebrates the big and small moments that make foster care so transformative; thanks the reported 3,261 fostering households in Scotland for what it sees as their dedication and commitment to caring for children and young people who, it believes, have had some of the most difficult starts in life in this country; notes reports that there are currently 4,155 children and young people living in foster care in Scotland; understands that fostering can be incredibly rewarding, but also challenging in the context of higher living costs, what it considers to be stretched public services, and the emotional and practical demands of the role; is concerned that the number of fostering households in Scotland is reportedly decreasing, and understands that 400 more fostering households are needed; notes the belief that a resilient and well-resourced foster care sector is vital to Scotland’s work to keep The Promise, so that care experienced children and young people grow up safe, loved and respected, and further notes the calls for more support for foster carers to ensure that they can continue to do what they love, for the children and young people they love.

12:51  

It is right that I start by thanking those members who supported the motion to allow the debate. I also thank those members who will participate in the debate and those in the audience who wish to stay for it.

This is an important debate. When we talk about fostering and foster families, what do we mean? In a situation in which a child cannot be cared for by their birth parent or by kinship carers such as extended family or close friends, they can be cared for by an approved foster family. The important two words in that are “family” and “approved”. It is the coming together of an agreement that a family can care for a child from outwith that family.

This is an important debate because we take this time to mark foster care fortnight here in the Parliament—because foster care is so important for our young people. At the outset, I thank the Fostering Network for its help on that. This year, foster care fortnight runs from 13 to 26 May, and looks at celebrating all those big and small moments that define fostering for carers, children and families.

The debate also allows me to give a plug for the Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise, who, on Sunday 19 May, will join fostering families in a short walk in Mugdock park in Milngavie, because the small moments—the sometimes less important moments, as they are observed to be by those on the outside—make all the difference to the young people, the children and, indeed, the families. In anticipation, therefore, I wish the minister well with that.

Foster care and foster carers are vital for the nurture and development of our children and young people. Foster care provides a loving home, care and support for some of the most vulnerable children in our society. Because of how important foster care is in the wider system of support for children and young people, it is critical that we get it right.

One part of getting it right is ensuring that we have enough foster carers. Another is supporting and equipping the ones that we have. Currently, there are 3,261 fostering households caring for 3,927 children here in Scotland. I am sure that all members will join me in simply saying thank you to each and every one of them for all the hard work that they do.

However, it is a sad reality that that number is just under 5 per cent smaller than it was last year. That means that we need to do more. The Fostering Network, alongside many agencies and local authorities, has voiced concerns that the number of fostering households in Scotland is decreasing. It is approximately 400 families short. In the debate, I hope that we can look at recruitment and retention, which are issues that many of our vital services face as our local authorities are stretched thin and our public services have less and less capacity.

There is, however, reward in fostering, which is partly what this fortnight celebrates. There are those moments when a giggle, a laugh, an ice-cream, an arm around someone at the right time or a silly story at bedtime can help the young person and the family that offers fostering. Retention goes hand in hand with ensuring that we get it right for our young people, which is about supporting, equipping and valuing our foster carers.

Some of the things that the network has said would improve retention are improved training, increasing the status of foster carers and improving the pay that they receive.

The member has just talked about steps to improve retention. The Fostering Network is using the step up step down approach that I refer to in my speech. Would the member support that form of inventiveness?

So many interventions that support our foster families are crucial. I am thinking of Place2Be, whose exhibition outside the chamber I have the privilege of sponsoring this week, and the work that it has done directly with foster families—rather than the young people—to equip them with the tools, strategies and, sometimes, patience that is needed in difficult situations.

I am sure that other members will take the opportunity, as Roz McCall has done in her intervention, to look at how we can improve, at solutions and good practice, and at how we can do better across the board in order to have less of a postcode lottery.

East Lothian Council in my South Scotland region has highlighted the issues that it has had with the recruitment of foster carers in several reports in the past few years. One of the reports states:

“At this time, we do not have sufficient East Lothian Council foster carers to meet the demand of children who require foster placements.”

I know that East Lothian Council has done a significant amount of work and invested significant resources, and it continues to do so, but for the best outcomes for children and young people, we need to support and fund our local authorities and third sector organisations that provide similar services, because they are struggling to meet demand.

Supporting our foster carers and the children whom they foster is all part of the wider picture of ensuring that the Promise is more than just a headline. It is a key piece of the jigsaw that will ensure that care-experienced children and young people grow up safe, loved and respected. If we are serious about delivery and not just headlines, we need to fund our local authorities to do all those things, so that our hard-working foster carers can be supported well and so that, in turn, the children and young people receive the care and support that they need.

I thank once again all of Scotland’s brilliant, wonderful, marvellous foster carers and the Fostering Network for all the hard work that it does in supporting them and representing their voices.

In the spirit of this fortnight’s theme, which is #FosteringMoments, let the debate be the moment in which foster carers and those in foster care know the importance that we, in Parliament, place on them, and let us make the next moment one in which Parliament helps to deliver the support that they need.

We move to the open debate.

12:58  

I am delighted to be able to speak in this important debate during foster care fortnight and I thank Martin Whitfield for bringing it to the chamber, even if he pronounced Milngavie incorrectly—I am sure that my colleague Marie McNair picked that up. I also acknowledge his dedication to the subject of care-experienced young people.

Nothing is more important than giving a child the best start in life and a loving, stable home. As the motion says,

“there are currently 4,155 children and young people living in foster care in Scotland”

but

“400 more fostering households are needed,”

and the number of fostering households has decreased by 4.8 per cent since 2021.

We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis, and people might understandably be nervous of further commitment. All foster carers receive a weekly fostering allowance when they have a child in foster care living with them. That allowance is designed to cover the cost of looking after a child. It varies with their age and includes the cost of food, clothes, toiletries and travel and other expenses that are incurred. There are issues around rates and a possible postcode lottery and I hope that the minister will address those in closing the debate.

Fostering is about more than finances, however; it is about setting a young person on the right course and giving them the precious gift of a family life. There is a particular need for foster carers who can look after sibling groups. In 2022, 70 per cent of services reported difficulties in recruiting families who could take siblings, and 24 per cent of family groups in foster care were placed separately. Keeping siblings together is a key tenet of the Promise, and I am dismayed to hear those figures.

Make no mistake, fostering can be demanding and stressful at times and it requires endless patience and problem solving. However, the emotional rewards far outweigh any of those things. Making a difference to a child’s life must surely be worth every sleepless night and the extra grey hair. The theme of the 2024 fortnight is #FosteringMoments, as Martin Whitfield described, and those moments in a young person’s life will last a lifetime.

I am proud of the Scottish Government’s continuing commitment to fulfil the Promise and ensure that care-experienced children get the support and protection that they deserve. A key foundation of the Promise is that, when children are safe in their families and feel loved, they should stay. In 2023, 51 per cent of children leaving care in Scotland returned home to their parents, suggesting that more could possibly have been done to prevent those children from being taken into care in the first place.

The Scottish Government’s whole family wellbeing fund is aimed at significantly reducing the number of children and young people who are living away from their families by 2030. Our recently passed Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced by the minister, builds on that commitment and is another step towards fulfilling our promise to them.

The Fostering Network, Adoption UK, Place2Be and other third sector organisations such as Children 1st provide a huge amount of caring for our children who need a home. I recently led a members’ business debate and held a reception to highlight the great work that the Fostering Network does. Its fostering-friendly employer scheme focuses on how employers can support employees who are going through the fostering process. Its aim is to ensure that foster carers have the opportunity for paid leave, training, respite, meetings and other requirements to fulfil their vital role.

I hope that the scheme will help to boost awareness of the need for more foster carers and make employers think about how they could help employees to fulfil their wish. The scheme was set up in 2014 in response to findings that foster carers need more flexibility and understanding from their employers to work alongside fostering. There are now 120 fostering-friendly employers in the United Kingdom, and I am proud to say that I am one of them. I have spoken previously of the experience that I have of being a fostering-friendly employer. My head of office has two adorable adopted siblings and went through a thorough and detailed process, beginning with fostering. Now that I see those happy and thriving children, I know that every absence from the office was worth it.

I urge anyone who is considering fostering to reach out and make it happen—hundreds of children need you right now.

I call Roz McCall, to be followed by the member for Milngavie.

13:03  

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. On Rona Mackay’s point, I will mention that my grey hair started after I adopted my two daughters.

I am delighted to speak today, and I thank Martin Whitfield for bringing forward this members’ business debate to celebrate the Fostering Network, foster carers in general and this year’s foster carers fortnight. I echo his comments about the minister—I know how much of a supporter she is. We met last year at Blair Drummond during fostering fortnight, and I will also be there in Mugdock country park in Milngavie on Sunday. I know the effort that the minister puts in.

This year, the theme is #FosteringMoments. As is customary, it is time for me to overshare, because the memories that I have of those early years when we were a fostering family and not a forever family are included in the moments that I will cherish all my life. It is the small things—the infinitesimal changes that do not immediately jump out at you but slowly creep up on you—that show that trust is growing, security and comfort are steeping in and that the barriers of safety that were built up over the times of uncertainty are not impregnable, as they once were.

There was that time when their young face searched the crowd at the school nativity and broke into a smile at seeing me, when it did not matter at previous plays; the time when they proudly showed me drawings in school work and progress charts, waiting with genuine eagerness for positive reactions, whereas, until then, the outward demeanour was nonchalant, casual and distant; and the time when they accepted my word in trust that I would be at the park and would not go away, and that I would go to the shops and that dinner would be on time, without questioning, anxiety and judging. Those are but minuscule moments in a person’s perception, but nonetheless monumental changes for a child who had quite simply been let down by adults time and again.

We can never overestimate the role that foster carers play in building confidences and attachments in our young people. It is imperative that we ensure that that valued support continues. However, unfortunately, as has already been mentioned, foster carer numbers are declining.

I, too, thank the Fostering Network for its briefing for today. There is much in it that needs to be addressed. I have selected a couple of points. The Fostering Network states that, although the number of children in care, including foster care, continues to decline in Scotland, the number of fostering households is falling at a faster rate, and that the Care Inspectorate has reported a downward trend in new foster carer approvals over the past five years, which has accelerated in the past year. That is concerning, especially when we add that to the recent report from Who Cares? Scotland, which rightly raised the point that, when it comes to the reduction of children in care, it is unclear whether that is indicative of progress towards the goal of keeping more children at home with their families or is due to a lack of social work intervention, which means that children are being left in unsafe homes. I urge the Scottish Government to ensure that all data collection on that issue is robust.

I am sure that the minister is aware of this, but I want to draw attention to the Fostering Network’s fantastic step up step down initiative, which I have already mentioned in a badly worded intervention. That initiative, which is currently utilised in Northern Ireland and Wales, supports families on the edge of the care system. The process has demonstrated reduced numbers of children coming into care and improved outcomes for children and families. That not only supports the intention of the Promise but ensures that no child is missed. I would appreciate any chance that the minister has to discuss that with her directly.

In conclusion, our foster families go above and beyond for children in their care. Many take children beyond the age range that they are approved to take, and many look after more children than they are approved to have. “Thank you” seems to be too small a phrase for the work that they do. Nonetheless, I say, “Thank you.”

13:07  

I thank Martin Whitfield for bringing the debate to the chamber.

I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I was a councillor in West Dunbartonshire from 2003 until 2022.

I speak in the debate as a former councillor who sat on the council’s adoption and fostering panel for over 15 years. That was a real privilege, and it gave me a greater insight into the importance of good foster care. That can have a profound impact on the lives of children and young people and can give them the chance to live in a loving and stable environment.

The annual campaign helps us to shed a positive light on foster care and lets us celebrate the hard work, dedication and commitment of foster carers. As has been said, as of July 2023, there were approximately 3,261 approved fostering families in Scotland and 3,927 children living with foster families.

The theme of #FosteringMoments this year lets us celebrate the big and small moments that create memories and help to transform young people’s lives—the moments that define fostering journeys. Very often, it is the small moments in foster care that have the biggest impact.

I was touched in reading about some of the moments that foster carers told the Adolescent and Children’s Trust about. One that really hit me was this:

“The boys learning to ride bikes will be a memory that stays with me forever. I will never forget their whoops of joy as they shouted, ‘I can ride a bike!’”

Andrew, a young person who was placed in foster care in East Dunbartonshire, said:

“Every day is always good with my foster parents but the thing that I always love is on a Sunday, whether it is warm or rainy, loads of family come up and my foster mum makes a massive steak pie, and everyone is there and we all just eat together and watch TV. It’s not much, but it means a lot to me. I am grateful for the life they have given me. This has been the best life I could have hoped for.”

It is clear that those small moments that some of us might take for granted have the biggest impact and help to transform the lives of young people in care. Whatever the fostering moment is, it is about making a connection with that young person and making them feel cared for. No matter how small the moment, it has a huge impact.

In my constituency, there are many excellent foster carers, and I am grateful to them. The health and social care partnerships in East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire do amazing work, providing support groups, training and dedicated support workers for foster carers in the area. Supporting foster parents is essential, and I know that many of them would struggle without the support of their supervising social worker. When foster parents are well supported, they are able to offer the best care for the children and young people they look after.

Although we recognise the commitment and the amazing work of current foster carers, this fortnight also gives us a chance to encourage others to take up foster care. Of course, it is not something that someone should rush into. It is challenging, but it is really rewarding. However, there are many caring individuals out there who could change the lives of people in care, so, if someone thinks that this might be a thing that they could do, I ask them to please consider it—we are always looking for more foster carers.

Every child deserves to grow up safe and loved, and good foster care can change a child’s life—it can turn it around and put that child on a path to a brighter future. I celebrate the work of our local foster carers and thank them for everything that they do. I cannot thank them enough.

13:11  

I thank Martin Whitfield for initiating today’s debate, and I thank members for their speeches this afternoon, which included some personal contributions.

The debate has enabled the Parliament to recognise the Fostering Network’s annual foster care fortnight. As members have said, it is an excellent opportunity to celebrate foster carers and acknowledge the vital difference that they make to the lives of children and young people. Earlier this week, I published a letter to all foster carers, thanking them for all that they do, but I also want to put on the record here today my sincere thanks to all foster carers and practitioners working in the sector. We absolutely recognise the key role that they play in providing nurturing homes and wider support for children and young people across Scotland. What they do positively transforms lives, and the family-based care that foster carers provide is a key to our collective commitment to keep the Promise.

I also take this opportunity to add my thanks to the Fostering Network in Scotland for all the work that it does to organise foster care fortnight. It has been heartening to see this year’s theme of #FosteringMoments being shared on social media, and I was delighted to take part by sharing a short video highlighting some of my favourite fostering moments. Some of those include meeting with foster carers at Blair Drummond park for last year’s foster care fortnight, which has already been mentioned; meeting the Fostering Network’s young people’s advisory board, which is an inspiring group of young people; and hosting a small event in Parliament for some incredible foster carers, young people with care experience, sons and daughters, social workers and others in the fostering community who had won a fostering excellence award. Such memories hold a special place in my heart and motivate me to continue working hard to improve fostering and keep the Promise. Martin Whitfield is right to say that I will be walking for foster care fortnight, and I look forward to that day being a huge success.

As Martin Whitfield highlights in the motion, and as many others have said, there are challenges, including the retention and recruitment of foster carers. However, there are also opportunities for everyone—national Government, local government, the third sector and local communities—to support our foster carers. As we have said, foster care is absolutely key to delivering fully on the Promise, and it is vital that the Scottish Government leads from the front if we are to ensure that all care-experienced children and young people are supported to grow up loved, safe and respected.

We set out our commitment to do that in the Promise implementation plan, which was published in 2022 and will be updated in the coming weeks. This is an important year for the Promise—a year in which we are reflective but we look forward to the steps that we still need to take to fulfil our commitment. Fostering is an important part of that.

Our vision is to ensure that every child lives in a safe and loving home and that families are supported to overcome difficulties and stay together.

On the point about the Promise hoping to keep families together and your other points, would you be willing to meet me to talk about step up step down? They have it in Northern Ireland and Wales, so maybe we could have a look at it in Scotland.

Please always speak through the chair.

Absolutely. I was going to come on to step up step down. I am interested in the outcomes of that programme, so my officials have met representatives from the Fostering Network in Northern Ireland, which runs step up step down, and they will continue to liaise with the Northern Ireland and Welsh Governments, who are also piloting it, to measure the outcomes. I am also happy to discuss that more with the member.

Work has begun on delivering that vision, aligned with the Government’s mission to eradicate child poverty, redesign the children’s hearing system and look at the future of children’s services. We have provided funding to the third sector to support foster carers, including £150,000 to the Fostering Network Scotland this year to support the Fosterline Scotland service.

The Scottish Government has also been working with a small group of partners, including the Fostering Network, The Promise Scotland, local authorities and others to look at how we attract and retain foster carers and what action we can take collectively. The group has developed proposals that include a package of emotional, practical and financial supports for foster carers so that they can feel better valued and supported. The proposals will form part of a public consultation on the future of fostering that we will launch in autumn this year.

Our fostering consultation, which is part of a wider co-ordinated package of consultations, will propose a new vision for foster care in Scotland in the 21st century, with early intervention, prevention and family reunification at its heart. The consultation will also outline the work on recruitment and retention that is already under way, as well as some new proposals. We will ask about the practice-based issues that we have heard impact on foster carers day to day.

We also plan to undertake extensive engagement with children and young people with experience of foster care, foster carers, practitioners and all those within the fostering community. Voice was at the heart of the independent care review, and, as I have said before and will say again, it is essential that voices continue to be heard and inform our work to keep the Promise.

On the financial side, as Ms Mackay has noted, there is more work to do. However, last August I was able to introduce the Scottish recommended allowance for foster and kinship carers. That was a huge milestone. It is making a big difference to the daily lives of more than 9,000 children and young people in foster and kinship care in Scotland. I know that there is more to do, and that will be explored in the consultation that I mentioned earlier. Given the financial challenges that the whole public sector faces at the moment, I am also considering carefully uprating the allowances in the current financial year. I plan to make an announcement shortly, following discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

On the practical side, we have also started work to scope out how we can use training to best support foster carers to deal with the impact of trauma on the children and young people whom foster carers care for. Last year, during a members’ business debate led by Rona Mackay, I made the commitment that the Scottish Government would look at opportunities to become a more supportive and flexible employer for employees who are also foster carers.

I am delighted to say that we are working towards having the Scottish Government’s human resources special leave policy updated by autumn 2024, so that all employees who are foster and kinship carers will have access to dedicated foster and kinship leave to support their roles as carers. My hope is that, by leading from the front, the Scottish Government can work with other public and private sector employers across Scotland and persuade them to do the same by supporting their foster and kinship carers.

Today’s debate is an important opportunity to reflect on our collective work to keep the Promise by 2030, and I again thank Scotland’s foster carers for their commitment. There is no doubt that they improve the lives of the children and young people in their care and make our collective vision for them a reality.

That concludes the debate. I suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2 o’clock.

13:19 Meeting suspended.  

14:00 On resuming—