The Promise still achievable but Scotland 'should be much further forward’

Scotland can still keep The Promise to care-experienced children, young people and families by 2030, but there is a “real but narrowing opportunity” to turn commitments into changes in people’s lives, according to the Oversight Board.

The fourth report from the Oversight Board for the promise, published on 29 September, found that too much of the commitment made to Scotland’s children, families and care-experienced adults remains on paper rather than being consistently experienced by people.

The Promise is that “all Scotland’s children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected so they can realise their full potential.”

The report says stretched teams, limited capacity and resources that do not match need continue to affect progress. It identifies a range of challenges, including commitments that have not yet been delivered, action that has come too late and areas where significant work is under way but has yet to result in consistent changes to people’s experiences.

The Oversight Board said there was a “real but narrowing opportunity for this Parliament to demonstrate what Scotland is capable of when it turns commitment into change in people’s lives.”

It called for greater urgency in the remaining years to 2030, stating that “this is the time to move faster, with greater urgency and a determined focus on what changes people’s lives”.

However, the report also identifies progress since the Board’s previous report at the start of 2025, including legislation being passed, the development of services and approaches, and examples of children and families receiving support that reflects the principles of The Promise.

It highlights effective partnerships, longer-term funding that provides greater stability, and giving workers the flexibility to build and protect relationships as examples of approaches supporting progress.

The Board said, however, that the shortage of suitable care demonstrated the consequences when capacity does not match need.

A particular focus of Report Four is children experiencing care at home. There were 2,411 children in this group as of July 2025, accounting for around one in five of all children experiencing formal care.

The Board found examples of strong relationships, committed staff and improvements in practice for these children, but said the quality and availability of support remained inconsistent.

“The evidence leaves a clear concern: children experiencing care at home cannot yet rely consistently on support identified as necessary, being available when it is needed and sustained for as long as required,” the report states.

The Oversight Board is calling for greater clarity about what changes as a result of people sharing their experiences, following the Independent Care Review, which heard from more than 5,500 people, more than half of whom had experience of care.

Among its 10 actions, the Board is calling on the Scottish Government and local authorities to establish the workforce needed to keep The Promise. It also wants children living at home with significant identified needs to receive the practical and specialist support, advocacy and trusted relationships they require.

The Board is also calling for those responsible for national delivery to use existing evidence to identify where progress is weakest, understand why this is the case and change what happens as a result.

David Anderson, chair of the Oversight Board, said: “There is no more important responsibility than securing the futures and wellbeing of Scotland’s children.

“All our Board members know how important this is, many of us have direct experience of care whilst every one of us strives to keep the promise in our working lives.

“We have seen that progress has been made, people are working hard and they care. The changes we have seen to plans, legislation, funding, structures and implementation all matter and can represent real progress.”

Anderson said, however, that progress needed to be judged by its impact on people rather than by activity or implementation alone.

“But the promise ultimately has to be judged by whether those changes improve people’s lives. Activity is not the same as action and Scotland must show whether support is reaching people, whether barriers are reducing and whether experience is changing.”

He compared the work still required to completing a home, saying: “If keeping the promise was like building a home, the foundations have been laid and some of the walls are up, but after six years the country should be much further forward.”

Anderson added: “A house is not a home because the plans exist – it becomes one when there is food in the cupboards, heat in the radiators and people who know they are safe, loved and belong.

“That is what delivery looks like in real life, and it is what Scotland must make happen.”

The Oversight Board is responsible for monitoring, tracking and reporting on Scotland’s progress towards keeping The Promise by 2030. Its members bring professional expertise alongside lived experience of care, with more than half having their own experience of care.

The Promise Scotland provides secretariat support to the Board while remaining separate from it. The organisation says Report Four highlights the need for greater urgency, with its chief executive Fraser McKinlay stating that “plans and activity matter only when they lead to the change Scotland promised”.