The promise must be kept by 2030. Scotland has now chosen the parliamentarians who must deliver it

Scotland has a new government, there are new MSPs and there is a change in the balance of parties represented in the Scottish Parliament.

In the six years since the promise was made, Scotland, including the government and parliament, has come together and collaborated to improve the lives of children, families and care experienced adults in a way that has never been seen before.

Progress has been made— but there is more to do.

A unique opportunity to prioritise the promise

This promise must be kept, and Scotland has now chosen the parliamentarians who must deliver it by 2030.

This means they must help change lives, reshape the public sector, better use public finances, show that Scotland cares about its children and – ultimately – be a part of the government and parliament that keeps the promise.

Ahead of the election, 54 organisations who work with children, families and care experience 54 organisations who work with children, families and care experienced adults called on all parties to commit to keeping the promise. Now, those parties must work together to make this happen.

A new government, with a new mandate, has a unique opportunity to prioritise this work, give it the pace it needs— and to show Scotland that if it makes a promise, it will keep it.

Doing so requires strong political leadership, clear focus, and brave decision-making to drive forward this change at scale and pace. There is not a minute to waste.

Implementation of recent legislation must now happen at pace

Just before the last parliament dissolved, MSPs unanimously passed the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill and the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill. Now, immediate attention must be given to planning for implementation, in line with the timeline of keeping the promise by 2030.

The collaborative working which saw these Bills pass unanimously must continue, with the Scottish Government and Parliament now addressing the systemic barriers getting in the way of change through: 

• Creating a clear legislative environment.
• Ending short-term and siloed funding, engendering good practice within commissioning.
• Improving data collection.
• Strengthening scrutiny, accountability and governance.
• Enabling shared responsibility and long-term outcomes, and creating conditions for confident, collective decisions rather than risk-averse ones.

To help all new and returning MSPs, The Promise Scotland has created a briefing paper on why keeping the promise is so important, why it must matter to them, what they must do and their important role in scrutiny.

This builds on our pre-election paper, Ensuring Scotland’s children grow up loved, safe and respected – How the next Scottish Government and Parliament can make sure that Scotland keeps the promise.