59 children and young people die in care system in less than three years

Nearly 60 children have died in Scotland’s care system in less than three years.

The shocking figure comes in a report by the body set up to monitor the Scottish Government’s 2020 ‘Promise’ to improve the lives of children and young people in care.

Overall, there were 17 deaths of children in care, seven involving youngsters in continuing care and 35 involving those in through care and after care over the period 2019, 2020 and the first nine months of 2021.

The figures appear in the report published by The Promise Scotland Oversight Board.

It added: ‘The avoidable death of a child or young person for whom Scotland has had responsibility is an unmitigated tragedy. The fact that the data lacks any information on the lives and experiences of careexperienced young adults compounds what is already a heart-breaking position. Failure to understand not only makes it hard to monitor but also fails to provide the chance to learn and make sure it stops.’

The Promise – described as a ‘ten-year transformational change programme’ – was a Scottish Government commitment to improvements to the care system after a three-year probe by the Independent Care review. But the new report warns more needs to be done if it is to be fulfilled by the target date of 2030.

Fiona Duncan, chairman of the oversight body, was clear that ‘we need greater urgency across Scotland to deliver the change needed’.

The board said poor recordkeeping meant the data available was ‘insufficient for understanding children’s lives, and incomplete in providing information for us to properly do our job’.

The report said: ‘The way that data is predominantly used by the “care system” has evolved to meet the needs of the “system”, rather than being founded on what matters to children, families and care-experienced adults.’

Speaking as the report was

‘Incomplete information’

published, Ms Duncan said: ‘Two years have passed since the promise was made, and with less than eight years left to keep it, we need greater urgency across Scotland to deliver the change needed.

‘Before the monitoring report next year, we need a real stepchange in the pace and scale of improvements’

Deputy First Minister John Swinney welcomed the report, saying: ‘In March, we set out over 80 actions that the Scottish Government will take to keep the Promise and deliver change by 2030. We continue to build on work already under way to improve the lives of children, young people and families in care.’