Oversight Board for the promise publishes Report FOUR

Report FOUR from the Oversight Board to the promise - published today, 29 September 2026 - has found too much of the promise made to Scotland’s children, families and care experienced adults, remains on paper— not in people’s lives.

The report calls on those with power to act, saying 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 Board - whose role it is to report on whether Scotland is keeping the promise - believe the promise remains Scotland’s clearest commitment to creating that change, urging “this is the time to move faster, with greater urgency and a determined focus on what changes people’s lives”.

Real problems exist beside real progress

The promise is “that all Scotland’s children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected so they can realise their full potential.”

In creating the report, the Oversight Board heard of stretched teams, limited capacity and resources that do not match need.

The report sets out that the problem is not one single thing. Some commitments have not been delivered; some action has come too late; elsewhere significant work is underway but has yet to change what people experience consistently.

They point to the shortage of suitable care is an immediate example of what happens when capacity does not match need.

However, the Oversight Board have found real progress since their last report at the start of 2025. Important legislation has been passed, services and approaches have developed, and there are places where children and families are experiencing the kind of support the promise envisaged.

The Board highlight effective partnerships, longer-term funding providing stability and workers being given the flexibility to build and protect relationships.

A key focus on children experiencing care at home

The report has a key focus on children experiencing care at home. There are 2411 children in this group as of July 2025, making up around one in five of all children experiencing formal care.

In this area, the Oversight Board found examples of strong relationships, committed staff and improvements in practice. However, they also found these to be inconsistent.

The report states:

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.

“There is no more important responsibility than securing the futures and wellbeing of Scotland’s children”

The promise was made following the publication of the Independent Care Review— which listened to over 5500 people, of which more than half had experience of care. The Oversight Board are using this report to call on Scotland to be clearer in what changes as a result of people sharing their views and experiences.

The report sets out 10 actions the Board want to see. Among them are:

• Scottish Government and local authorities establishing what workforce is needed to keep the promise
• Scottish Government and local authorities ensuring that children living at home with significant identified need receive the practical and specialist support, advocacy and trusted relationships they need
• Scottish Government and those responsible for national delivery using the evidence Scotland already holds to identify where progress is weakest, understand why and change what happens.

David Anderson, chair of the Oversight Board, said:

There is no more important responsibility than securing the futures and wellbeing of Scotland’s children.

All our Board members know how important this is, many of us have direct experience of care whilst every one of us strives to keep the promise in our working lives.

We have seen that progress has been made, people are working hard and they care. The changes we have seen to plans, legislation, funding, structures and implementation all matter and can represent real progress.

But 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.

A house is not a home because the plans exist – it becomes one when there is food in the cupboards, heat in the radiators and people who know they are safe, loved and belong.

That is what delivery looks like in real life, and it is what Scotland must make happen.

Read the Oversight Board's Report FOUR.