Promises are not enough for childcare - Sue Webber
One of the last acts of MSPs before the Scottish Parliament broke up for the election was to pass a bill which hopes to give people who have grown up in care the means to make their concerns and experiences known.
The Children (Care, Care Experience, and Services Planning) Bill, otherwise known as The Promise Bill, aims to provide care-experienced people with advocacy services so they can access help if they need it and don’t feel abandoned.
The experience of Holly Alex, abused when she was growing up in the Edinburgh care system, is as good an example as there is of someone who was not believed, but who has since found her voice by writing a book about her experiences and has been instrumental in keeping the issue very much alive.
Last week it was revealed that thousands of documents relating to child care have been rediscovered by Edinburgh Council and they could hold vital information about what has gone on in Edinburgh’s secure care homes, and even what is known from a 2022 investigation was shocking enough.
It’s an understatement to say the SNP does not have a good record of honouring its promises to young people, the latest being Scottish Government analysis which shows there is no evidence the £1bn spent on increasing child care for three and four year-olds has made any difference to closing the education attainment gap.
The Promise Bill has been passed in good faith, but the Scottish Government needs to accept it’s about more than throwing money at a problem.