Crunch time for The Promise as Nicola Sturgeon's key pledge may not be delivered
Repeated warnings have been issued over the pace of implementing key changes to support children in care
Ministers are running out of time to implement The Promise for cared experienced young people, a report has warned.
Nicola Sturgeon’s key pledge to improve the lives of young people in care remains “on paper”, the Oversight Board for The Promise found.
The body, set up to monitor whether authorities are keeping The Promise, said resources and capacity were not matching demand, including a shortage of suitable care places.
It says there is 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”.
The Promise is a plan for root and branch change of Scotland’s care system with “transformation” schedule to be in place by 2030.
The Oversight Board said some commitments have not been delivered while some action was taken too late.
But elsewhere it said significant work was under way but has yet to change the experience of those in care in any consistent way.
The report said: “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.”
David Anderson, chairman of the Oversight Board, said: “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.
“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.”
While the report found progress has been made since the last oversight review of 2025, it says the gap to ensure the pledge is delivered by 2030 is rapidly closing.
Liberal Democrat MSP Duncan Dunlop described the report as “damning” and said it showed the SNP was “failing some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people”.
He said: “10 years after it was made, The Promise is at risk of becoming just another political platitude, gathering dust instead of meaning or momentum.
“The SNP’s broken Promise is causing people to lose their lives.
“It’s also undermining efforts to tackle crises like the drug deaths emergency and the spiralling prison population, both of which disproportionately affect people who have been in the care system.”
Mr Dunlop, along with fellow Lib Dem MSP Adam Harley, has also written to the drugs minister asking her to publish the number of care-experienced people dying from drugs.
The report makes 10 recommendations, including calls for councils and the Scottish Government to ensure children living at home with significant identified needs receive the practical and specialist support, advocacy and relationships they require.
The body also urges the Scottish Government and those responsible for the national delivery of The Promise to identify where progress is weakest and make reforms.
Labour MSP Katherine Sangster said the report was “a stark reminder of how much work we have left to do to deliver The Promise”.
She said: “It is a moral imperative that the Scottish Government put their words into action. There are clear actions in this report that can and should be delivered. Get on with it.”
She added: “For the Oversight Board to say that ‘the evidence available to us does not yet give confidence that The Promise will be kept by 2030’ should be a wake-up call to the SNP.
“Time is running out, and faith in the Government is running out just as fast. The Promise must be kept – the Government must deliver.”
The Oversight Board warnings come just a week after Ben Farrugia, Director of Social Work Scotland, gave a stark warning to the Scottish parliament’s education committee on a lack of resources.
Siobhian Brown, minister for The Promise, said the review “recognises that real progress is happening across Scotland”.
“Crucially, it acknowledges that we can keep The Promise by 2030 if we increase the scale of interventions and pace of efforts across the country,” she added.
“The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to ensuring we keep The Promise.”
Ms Brown pointed to the passing of legislation to accelerate delivery of The Promise, investment in whole family support, increased support for foster and kinship carers, the establishmentt of the National Social Work Agency and the end of the placement of under-18s in young offender institutions.
“However, we know progress is not yet experienced consistently by every child and family, and are taking action to address this,” the minister added.
“We are already working towards each of the report’s recommendations, and have committed through this year’s Programme for Government to publish an updated Implementation Strategy setting out the key actions to lead through to 2030.
“We will also ensure The Promise remains a core part of the Public Service Reform agenda.
“While the Scottish Government has an important leadership role to play, keeping The Promise requires collective action.”
Ms Brown said she would write to other agencies across Scotland to highlight the report and call for joint working to push forward on the recommendations.
“Together, Scotland must ensure every care-experienced baby, child and young person grows up loved, safe and respected,” she added.
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