 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 11227, in the name of Martin Whitfield, on keeping the promise oversight board report. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask those members who would wish to speak in the debate to please press the request to speak buttons and I call on Martin Whitfield to open the debate. I am very grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer. It is, as always, a great pleasure to bring a Member's debate to this Chamber. Before I start, can I thank those Members across the Parliament who supported this motion for the debate, and indeed those Members who have found time to contribute to this debate. Of course, this debate comes at a time when we are looking at young people. The 17th of November was, of course, International Students Day. Monday just gone was Children's Day, and last Friday saw children in need 2023, a night described as a spotacular, but talked about the generosity of the people across the UK to help children all over the UK thrive and be the best that they can be. Of course, we have heard that today is carers' day. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child talks about a right to an education, a right to play, to food, to health, housing, respect for privacy, freedom from violence and abuse and family life. We encompass all of that in the promise that was made here in Scotland, that Scotland's promise to care, experience children and young people is that they will grow up loved, safe and respected. In those three simple words, we encompass a convention that is recognised across the world. We recognise these days that we use to celebrate young people, people who support them, families and wider communities, the rights to grow up to be loved, safe and respected. I make no apologies for the many words that went into this motion, because it allows the Chamber to look at the work of the promise oversight board, a board of experts who have just one role to hold Scotland to account around whether it is doing enough to keep that promise. It is more than three years that has passed since the promise was first made to keep it by 2030. In order to do that, we had to move Scotland a great distance from the independent care review that occurred all the way through to the implementation of the promise. This motion talks to the second report from the oversight board, a report that rightly points out the huge work that has already been achieved, the massive efforts that have been put in by individuals, by organisations, by third sector, by charities, by local authorities, by educational establishment, by schools and by the Scottish Government. It does come with a very blunt proviso. That is that we can keep that promise by 2030, but the original aims of the plan from 2021 to 2024 is not realistic by next year. I think we need to pay great attention to that. We often hear people say that you set high targets and work hard to achieve them, and it's sort of all right if you don't make it because you get there. We hear people talk about the great steps that have been made to arrive at something. But for people to grow up loved, safe and respected, we need to do more. And the we is Scotland. The we is the organisations. The we is our local authorities. The we is this Parliament. The we is the Scottish Government. Because the Scottish Government has probably the key role in a very complex jigsaw, and without the ability for the Scottish Government to achieve what it needs to do, it will almost be impossible for those that are working so hard day in, day out to make the promise a reality, not just from 2030, but from the experiences that our care experience children have day in, day out. The report identifies three priority areas. Education, brothers and sisters, siblings and homelessness. And this chamber heard a debate yesterday about homelessness. And we are talking when we talk of our care experience children of a small subset of a greater set. But the concept that they could be rendered homeless is a frightening thought. I go back to the UNCRC. The right for housing. Brothers and sisters, it almost seems strange that it took so long to understand the significance of keeping siblings together. The significance for their own development. The significance for their siblings development. And the significance that being together empowers them to face challenges that perhaps otherwise they can't do. We promised it would happen. We need to see much faster, stronger joined up thinking to allow it to happen. Going into care is a challenging experience at the best of times. It comes frequently after events that thankfully most people will never experience, but will stay with the young people for the rest of their lives. And if it is to stay with them, it should stay with them in a shape where they have been supported, where they have been cared for. And that begins with being with your brother and sister. A younger brother and sister that you just sometimes want to put your arm around and say it's all right, even if perhaps you don't believe it yourself. Or a younger brother and sister who you look up to when they're older and they're there to be a bit of certainty in the life. I thank the member for taking that intervention. Yesterday at committee we heard very powerful evidence from Who Care Scotland regarding the importance of siblings being kept together, whether it be either in residential care or in foster care. But we heard about the conflict in terms of the reducing numbers in residential care that sometimes prevents that. I was wondering if the member could reflect on that. I'm very grateful for that intervention, and I will reflect on it by saying that we want our young people to be loved, we want our young people to be safe and we want our young people to be respected. The very three words of the promise that we made across this Chamber and we made it in a role that represented a promise Scotland was making to its care experience children. And the third area that the report draws attention to is of course education. Education has had enormous challenges with Covid, and indeed I think as adults and with some knowledge or experience of education myself, I look at it and it is a challenging environment to look in. And yet for so many care experienced children, education can be a certainty, it can be a safety, they can find an adult that they can talk to, not necessarily about the excitement of history politics or what the spelling test is on Friday, but perhaps just how they're feeling. And to assure Scotland that the education system that our care experienced children go to, as do all of our young people, is fit for purpose to provide that, is a big ass, it is a hard ass, but it is an ass that is justifiable to be made because we want our children to grow up loved, safe and respected. In conclusion, Deputy Presiding Officer, and can I thank you for your patience? One of the calls contained in this report from the Scottish Government, and I make no bones about aiming this at the Scottish Government because that's one of the purposes of this debate, is to set out a clear set of principles, the outcomes and milestones that will guarantee the promise. A strategic investment plan to deliver the required change, the demand for proper sequencing, strategic planning and resourcing. The UNCRC Bill will hopefully come back to this chamber to find its rightful place on our statute book. But one of the asks from those around it, one of the things that will facilitate its development, speaks to the very heart of the promise that we in this place, that the Scottish Government start legislating in a way that every single enactment brings human rights, brings our young people's rights into law. So should it be needed, should it be needed, they can enforce it, because that is the route and if we can achieve it for care experienced children, we can achieve it for all our young people, the simple demand to be loved, safe and respected. I'm grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you, Mr Whitfield. I now call Rona Mackay to be followed by Rose McCall. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Firstly, can I thank Martin Whitfield for bringing this important debate to the chamber and for his commitment to improving the lives of young people and children? Around one in every hundred children goes into care before their first birthday in Scotland and children living in the 10 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland are 20 times more likely to become care experienced than those in the 10 per cent least deprived areas. Presiding Officer, I could fill my four minute slot with a barrage of statistics about outcomes for care experienced young people, all of them important but frankly none of them good. So I'll focus on the Scottish Government's commitment to improving the lives of young people through the promise and try to address the points in Martin Whitfield's motion relating to the report. The promise oversight board report 2 highlights a number of areas, as Martin Whitfield said, such as sibling contact, homelessness and education, which are so crucial to the wellbeing of care experienced children. There's so much in the report that it's impossible to cover everything in a short speech. First, sibling contact. As a justice committee member in the last session and in this, I had an amendment accepted in the Children's Scotland Act 2020 to ensure that local authorities must take steps to promote direct contact between a looked after child and their siblings where appropriate. It's important to say that we're appropriate. I've seen just how important that is to the welfare of children through my friends who adopted a little boy aged 18 months and his sister one year later. These children now have their sibling bond to nurture them as they grow up and I cannot stress how important this is, attachment, nurture, security. With regard to homelessness, care experienced adults are twice as likely to have experienced homelessness usually before their 30th birthday. This is shocking and we must do better by improving the pathways and outcomes for care experienced people, which is exactly why the promise was set up. Education is the building block needed for every young person, but particularly for care experienced young people who faced unique challenges. A central aim of the promise is that they're supported in attending and attending all subjects and being encouraged to enter higher education. Only yesterday I saw a billboard advertising job vacancies for care experienced people, a huge sign of progress. According to the report, care experience is not defined in statute and I'm pleased that this is expected to be rectified in the Scottish Government's forthcoming promise bill. I'm sure that the minister can maybe expand on that. Legislation can be a force for good and I believe that this will be. Last week in Parliament I met an inspiring group of young people, the change makers, and they're supported by children first. The driving force behind the Beirnshus and of course supporting children in Scotland holistically and practically every day. They do an amazing job and my meeting with the change makers filled me with hope and optimism. I understand that children first are now working with parents to produce a film to help spread the word about their peer research to help professionals keep the promise. Sharing and working together is always the best way forward. As Martin Woodfield's motion says, keeping the promise is non-negotiable. As I'm sure the minister will confirm that when summing up, we must build on what we've started without further delay. I urge everyone to believe that the Scottish Government is committed to getting it right for every child, whatever their background or life experience. We have much to do and I accept that the pace should be picked up perhaps a little faster, but our commitment is strong and we will fulfil our promise to Scotland's disadvantaged young people. I now call Rose McColl, who is joining us remotely to be followed by Kara Mockin. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thanks to Martin Woodfield for bringing the debate today. It's no secret from my contributions that I fully support the aims of the promise and its goal to support people with care experiences in Scottish society. At the time, the former First Minister described the promise as one of the most important moments in her time as First Minister. The Scottish Government said that it was committed to implementing the recommendations within a decade and I applaud that. However, if for three years on, several new review papers are still saying that support depends on where you live, on who you ask and on whether you had adequate support or encouragement, then unfortunately we're not on track to achieve the promise. With many independent organisations, including the promise itself, stating that the issues that the independent care review was supposed to address are getting worse, then we're not on course to achieve the promise. While the number of foster carers provided is decreasing and the number of space required is increasing, then we're not on course to achieve the promise. With the promise oversight board report of June 23 highlighting specific areas of concern that need addressing immediately, those being education, brothers and sisters and homelessness, well until these fundamental basics to provide care experience to children with the help that they need for a full and positive life are met, then unfortunately we're not on course to achieve the promise. Deputy Presiding Officer, recognising the cold hard facts is the only way we can get the promise back on track. In the first place, we need a comprehensive definition that is recognised and statute. The importance of recognising all types of care experience is paramount and that definition must encompass them all. This week is Scottish adoption week, whose focus is to listen to and to support all people who have experience of adoption, which is a sentiment that I want to echo and widen in this debate today. Because care experience of care is so much more than care experienced and we cannot put the proper support measures in place until we define what it is that we're supporting. Now I'd like to focus on the three areas of concern that were highlighted by the promise oversight board, education. Helping teaching staff and support staff to identify trauma-based behaviour as early as possible best serves the needs of our care experienced children in our classroom through primary, high school and onto apprenticeships colleges and university. Providing support and the relevant coping mechanisms will help care experienced young people with relationships with their peers, help them study, will give them the best start, support and recognition to thrive in school and a capacity to participate in activities and move on to positive destinations and this must be addressed immediately. Second point, removal from siblings. Children are being fostered and adopted in separate homes from their siblings which creates more trauma and reinforces trauma already present. The pain of separation is a difficult and complicated thing for a child to voice. Last week I attended the 100th anniversary of Scotland's adoption and fostering event and I heard from a young lady who had been placed with a loving family but was separated from her biological sister. It was only with the perseverance of her foster parents that they were able to keep up regular contact. Her story is one of thousands and children in these situations are facing such repeated trauma so we must address this immediately. The third point, homelessness. Homelessness in care experienced adults is on the rise with evidence showing that care experienced people have more than double the chance of experiencing homelessness before their 30th birthday. Difficulties, barriers and poverty where children leave their care environments have a devastating effect and unfortunately this must also be addressed immediately. The oversight board's concern is that we may not be on the course to achieve the promise. The report requests for greater evidence of transparent funding usage is not only reasonable but it's essential. It is crucial that as resources are strategically invested to meet the aims of the promise and it must happen without further delay. Keeping the promise, as stated, is non-negotiable. Any delay will be a betrayal of the commitment that we made to Scotland's children, families and the care experienced community. It was the passing of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, Scotland Bill and it was definitely a significant moment in the Parliament's history which we need to of course move on. The promise came from this of course and it was a much held government commitment championed by the former First Minister and with continued commitment from the current First Minister, the promise commits that by 2030s we've heard all Scotland's children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected. It is absolutely one of the most important parts of the Scottish Government's commitment to Scotland and its young people. I believe and I believe we've heard today that across the chamber the desire to make a reality as extremely high is a really noble goal and one that we must all strive towards. The reality is sadly that the current pace of change, the promise oversight board, does not believe that delivering the original aims of plan 21 to 24 is realistic by next year as we've heard. The promise oversight board is independent to the promise. It's made up of care experienced people whose job is to scrutinise if the promise is being kept or not. With its second report that was published in June this year, it has been brave enough to tell us that the promise is not being kept. It has told us that plan 21 to 24 will fail and it has told us that the recommendations within the plan won't be made and that it feels that Scotland perhaps is going to fall at the first hurdle of the promise to care experience. This is not good enough and we must make moves to ensure that this happens. Scottish Labour certainly wants to commit to supporting the Government to make sure that the promise is fully implemented in the best and most timely manner that we can. The overview board report clearly states that keeping the promise is not negotiable. I quote, Scotland cannot afford to wait. Our children and young people are relying on us over the next year and we expect to see explicit leadership and drive from the Scottish Government. I think that it's fair to say that there is a lack of leadership and for the care community in particular the slow pace of progress causes some hurt and upset. I was speaking to young people in the care community and they have asked me to ask the minister if she feels that this is rewarding failure. Where is the accountability in keeping the promise? The Government funds the promise Scotland, a private limited company, with millions of pounds of public money every year and they would like to know if the same person who wrote this plan will be responsible for setting the next stage of the plan. The reason that they have asked me about this is because they have advised that the plan may be changed in terms of the way in which it will be scrutinised. The plan was to have a phased approach to scrutinising it but there will be a change. Now we will look at a plan up to 24 to 27, then 27 to 30 but there is a suggestion that we will go for the next six years. There is a worry about the accountability of that. I also want to just bring a little bit of information about the family support. The promise outlined how Scotland must support families to help them to stay together, as Martin and others have said. There is a concern that there is a variable approach in delivering the whole family well being fund across Scotland and that it is not being delivering this transformative change that it was intended. The reality is that local authorities are starved of cash from the Government and we want to know, as the minister, making sure that this is highlighted because we want to know that the fund is not mitigating problems within local authorities. I know that we are running out of time so I am going to close there. I do hope that we can bring this debate back to the chamber because I think that there are a number of points that should be discussed if we can in Government time. I want to say to all members thank you for this opportunity to close today's debate and to all members for this afternoon's really considered contributions. As noted, it is our ambition that all children will go up loved, safe and respected and able to reach their full potential. It is absolutely essential that we turn this ambition into reality for all of our care experience children and young people across Scotland. I think that it is really, really assured to hear the members of this Parliament come together in support of our ambition that the promise sets. Whilst, as Government, we absolutely must and will lead from the front, success will only be realised if we work together to improve our policies, change how we deliver our services and recognise, respect and respond to the needs of our care experience population. Together we can make transformational and sustainable change happen and, importantly, progress is being made. The First Minister and I met Fiona Duncan on 7 November and we were really heartened to hear that Ms Duncan believes that Scotland is on track to keep the promise by 2030. Now, whilst that is encouraging, I absolutely understand that the pace must be continued and in key areas accelerated if we are to maintain this positive direction of travel. Success is, of course, it's not for us to judge. It is imperative that the children, the young people and the adults who have experience of the care system tell us how it is for them and where we must continue to improve and I will continue to listen to those voices. In this regard, I really, really do welcome the continued scrutiny that the Promise Oversight Board provides not only to the Scottish Government but to all the organisations that share responsibility. I also welcome the engagement of our representative partners, including Who Cares Scotland, who regularly help us to listen to the voices that matter. This week, the First Minister has written to Fiona Duncan to ask that she provide further detail on the areas of plan 21-24, where progress requires to be pushed and in so doing set out the proposed timeline and ambition for development of plan 24-30, something that I know Carol Mocken is very interested in. This information will help us to connect and to drive forward progress. It will bring into focus what's next and who must deliver and buy when, and I'd encourage all members to get behind this work. Over the last eight months that I have had the honour to hold this position, I have had the pleasure of visiting a range of projects and seeing really, truly excellent progress under way. Projects such as the Virtual School in North Lanarkshire, which has seen dramatic reductions in exclusions, siblings reunited in Fife, where I was truly heartened to see the efforts being made to unite siblings. An extremely important matter raised by Rhona Mackay, Martin Whitfield and Rose McCall. I visited Kinship Caerars in Airdrie and just yesterday I visited the Perineetal support service ran by Aberlour in Falkirk. That's just a few visits that I've been on. Members will no doubt, however, know of other work under way in their own constituency areas, and what matters is how we move these from examples of practice to simply practice. That point was echoed again by attendees at the committee yesterday and we must work together to share our learning and make sure that what works can be spread wide across Scotland to ensure our whole care experience community benefit. In terms of progress, I want to highlight some key areas. Members will be aware that the Children's Care and Justice Bill is presently going through Parliament and this is a key vehicle for legislative change necessary for Scotland to keep the promise. If agreed, it will also represent the first step in a process of reform of the children's heating system that will include consultation on the changes proposed by Sheriff Mackay through his recent review. The Scottish Government's response to this report, as I've said before, will be published by the end of this calendar year. Members, I could list many examples of work under way, including the Scottish recommended allowance for foster and kinship that will benefit over 9,000 families, helping them to provide the standard of living and the wellbeing that the children and young people in their care deserve. Also, the £2,000 care leaver payment to support our young people as they move on from care, which was put to consultation just earlier this month. I'm not raising those points to be combative. I have absolutely no right to do that. Instead, I want to help to demonstrate the seriousness with which I and this Government take the task that has been set. We absolutely must, and we will deliver the change required. I'm very grateful to the Minister to give way, and it is right that she's not raising them as successes in their own right just to be celebrated. But it's fine examples of how we're moving from where we are now to the promise for 2030. We have legislation going through now, which clearly is too far advanced to encompass the request from the third sector under the UNCRC, that we should legislate to encompass the UNCRC going forward. But we have a fine opportunity with regard to the promise and a bill that will be coming forth. Can the minister give an assurance that that will be drafted to encompass the UNCRC? As Mr Woutfield will be aware, the promise bill is coming by the end of this parliamentary session, and we will take all considerations on board. The promise oversight board recently wrote to the minister for housing and the minister for social care, mental wellbeing and sport in relation to homelessness and suicide prevention. We really do appreciate the board's feedback on those issues and continue to oversight, and I understand that both ministers are responding respectfully to that. Before coming to a conclusion, I'd like to pick up on the point raised by Rona Mackay about the definition of care experience. We will undertake a consultation on the definition of care experience in spring 24 to inform the promise bill, which could be used to introduce legislation, to introduce a universal and inclusive definition of care experience. In closing, can I just acknowledge the number of children and young people in care in Scotland? It is falling, which is positive news. It is up to all of us to continue our work to ensure that, where it is safe to do so, children and young people will stay with their families, families that are able to access the support that they need at the right time and in the right way. For our young people who are transitioning out of care, we have a package of support available to help them into adulthood. For our care experienced adults, we acknowledge across our services that being care experienced is lifelong. As I said earlier in my speech, I want to emphasise that I will continue to listen to the voices of our care experienced community in order to continue to progress change and ensure that we are getting it right. Mr Woutfield, let me thank you for bringing this discussion to the chamber this afternoon. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to work with you on this, and of course all members to continue our journey to deliver the change that is required.