Aberlour | Our response to First Minister’s pledge to review care system

We warmly welcome the independent review of the care system as outlined in the First Minister’s speech on Saturday. As Scotland’s children’s charity, Aberlour has campaigned alongside and on behalf of children and young people for many years.

We believe there are many areas of great practice across Scotland but the current system lacks consistency and will continue to produce the same poor results for too many of our children and young people unless there are some fundamental changes.

The review will need to look broadly at changes required, and ask searching questions of the whole system involved in delivering support to these young people. This should include Health Boards, Local Authorities and politicians at both a local and national level, if we are to realise the improvements our children and young people so desperately deserve.

The review requires to make clear recommendations as to how care can be provided differently in Scotland and it must involve organisations like ourselves in the Third Sector, as we provide significant services for Scotland’s children and young people.

We believe this review provides an opportunity for comprehensive change, which will allow all those concerned with the support of our looked after children and young people to fulfill the First Minister’s commitment to provide a care system that gives children a sense of family, of belonging, and most importantly, of love.

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Notes for editors:

Not all children are born with an equal chance. Aberlour is there for Scotland’s hidden children, when others let them down. Because every child deserves a chance to flourish.

We help by:

Offering a safe place to live for children who have suffered abuse and trauma
Making life easier for families where a child has a disability
Giving babies a brighter future by building confidence in their parents
Helping families recover from drug and alcohol addiction, so their children can thrive
Working with young people to prevent their problems from spiralling out of control

Our vision is to transform the lives of the children and families we work with and, through this, contribute to building a fairer and more equal society