Aberlour’s response to the Scottish Government’s care leaver payment consultation

At Aberlour we work with care experienced children, young people and their families. Through our residential children’s houses and fostering service we provide safe, nurturing and loving homes for children who cannot live with their families. We also support families and their children who are looked after at home. Many of these children and their families also have experience of extreme financial hardship and growing up in poverty. The increased likelihood of children from poorer backgrounds having experience of the care system is well established. The Promise is clear that tackling poverty is fundamental to achieving the ambition that children grow up loved, safe and respected and are able to fulfil their potential: “There must be a significant, ongoing and persistent commitment to ending poverty and mitigating its impacts for Scotland’s children, families and communities.”

We believe that the financial precarity many care experienced people find themselves in is not inevitable. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of corporate parents to be the ‘bank of mum and dad’ for care experienced children and young people and to guarantee their financial security when they leave care. This must also include ensuring care experienced young people have ongoing practical and emotional support, with the knowledge and certainty that they can continue to benefit from and lean on those existing nurturing and loving relationships with those who have provided their care and support as they have grown up.

Read our full response.