Fiona Duncan: Reform has been far too slow but we can still keep our Promise to Scotland’s children

Constructive criticism and blunt assessment of a situation, no matter how appropriate, measured and useful, is never easy to deliver.

To do it properly, you need to be able to look past good intentions, to take a clear, informed judgment on what is not being done that could or should have been and – most importantly – what needs to happen now.

Last week, despite the clear commitment and hard work of many, many people, that is what the Promise Oversight Board had to do. Our job is to monitor the progress Scotland is making to implement the conclusions of the Independent Care Review, in full, by 2030.

The responsibility to deliver the changes the Review called for lies with those organisations that have a duty of care to Scotland’s children and families, where there was already a commitment under the National Performance Framework that every child will grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

Unfortunately, the board’s report has had to make clear that what has happened is not good enough, nor fast enough to be in line with our promised ambition. Scotland is not currently where it should be.

In publishing its first report, the board has mixed emotions. There is unwavering belief that all the organisations with responsibility for change can do it, but also anxiety about the lack of swift change.

It is not a question of lack of commitment on behalf of agencies, local authorities, third sector partners and others. But the changes they are making are not yet at the scale or pace required, nor being felt by children and families.

Amongst the areas we singled out for the greatest scrutiny are: the continued prevalence of “cross-border placements”, where children are often separated far from their families and friends, in complex legal circumstances; a lack of data on how many children are being restrained whilst “in care”; and a similar lack of consistent ambition and understanding of the continued exclusion of care experienced children from school.

For this to all be the case, over two years after the Independent Care Review was unanimously endorsed in the Scottish Parliament, is not acceptable. The impact of the pandemic does not justify our collective goals not being achieved.

As hard a message as this is to convey, I know it is harder to hear. To set out the scale and range of changes required, the Independent Care Review listened carefully to more than 5,500 experiences. Now Scotland must listen – and respond – to this assessment that it is not yet keeping its promise.

That said, there is good work is happening, and much to build on. The board report lays out a whole series of things, that whilst might not be perfect or happening soon enough, do demonstrate change and progress. The commitment of £500 million funding for whole family support and the proposal to end the practice of sending 16 and 17-year-olds to Young Offenders Institutes are positive.

The concerns raised are significant, however. It’s been five years since the First Minister announced the root and branch review, two years since conclusions were published and eight years to go for all the changes to happen.

At present the lives of too many babies, infants, children and young people in Scotland are still determined by their circumstances. In times of adversity, too many face a system that does not love and does not care as it should. By 2030, at the latest, that must change.

Whilst the quality and pace need to pick up, Scotland does still have time for the Promise to be kept.

Fiona Duncan is chair of The Promise Oversight Board