The Cross-border Placement of Children (Requirements, Effect and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2026: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach – residential care provisions

The Scottish Government has undertaken significant engagement with key partners on the development of the policy underpinning the Regulations. This included bilateral engagements as well as wider stakeholder events.

The Scottish Government hosted open engagement sessions on 27 August and 4 September 2024 which comprised large numbers of stakeholders who have experience of dealing with cross-border placements. These engagement sessions offered an opportunity to discuss the key challenges and gaps with the existing legal framework and how these could be addressed.

Following this engagement, the Scottish Government considered all feedback received to inform the policy development and then hosted further engagement sessions in March 2025 to test and further refine this policy where necessary. The outputs of these sessions can be found here.

The Scottish Government has engaged with representatives from each of the persons that the Regulations require to be notified of temporary cross-border placements into residential care. This includes:

• the Health Board which provides health services in the area in which the child is to be subject to a placement,
• the registered manager of the service,
• the Chief Social Work Officer of the receiving local authority,
• any person acting for the time being as Chief Education Officer of the receiving local authority,
• the Chief constable of Police Scotland, and
• the Care Inspectorate

Additional engagement/evidence gathering

On 31 October 2023 the Scottish Government facilitated a stakeholder workshop to review experiences of implementing the 2022 Regulations. Key stakeholders provided written evidence of their experiences since those Regulations came into force.

In August 2023 the Scottish Government worked with the ADCS in England to gather information on a sample of cross-border placements where children were subject to voluntary arrangements to understand why these types of placements arise.

In May 2023, the Scottish Government commissioned the Care Inspectorate to undertake a thematic review of cross-border placements into Scotland. The report from the review was published in July 2024. As part of the review, Care Inspectorate colleagues spoke to professionals from across Scotland and from the respective placing local authority areas in other parts of the UK, as well as young people placed on a cross-border basis. The report has highlighted barriers and challenges, as well as what currently works well, and this information will be used to further inform our policy development in this area.

Engagement approach – foster care provisions

Although the engagement noted above was specifically in relation to residential care, many of the same issues exist for cross-border fostering placements (as noted at page 6). This evidence was therefore able to inform the development of the policy in relation to cross-border fostering placements – for example, ensuring Scottish parties are notified of all cross-border fostering placements.

Fostering stakeholders were provided a draft paper which set out the intention of the Regulations and offered meetings to discuss. Fostering stakeholders have been added to the Short Life Working Group for the development of practice guidance.

Internal SG engagement/engagement with wider Public Sector

Internal SG engagement

Policy officials have engaged across directorates within the Scottish Government to develop this policy. This includes engagement with the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser and teams working on Child Protection, Youth Justice and Children’s Hearings, Keeping the Promise and Data Protection. In addition, the Scottish Government has engaged with the following Executive Agencies: Education Scotland, Health Improvement Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland.

UK/ Devolved Administrations

The Scottish Government meets with the UK Government, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive on a regular basis to discuss the issue of cross-border placements, including the development of the Regulations.

Given the majority of cross-border placements originate from England, the Scottish Government has worked with the ADCS to gather data from their members on cross-border placements. The Scottish Government has also undertaken a number of evidence-gathering exercises with placing authorities in England:

• In February 2024 the Scottish Government wrote to English placing authorities to gather evidence in relation to why children are being placed in residential care in Scotland.
• In March 2025, the Scottish Government wrote to English placing authorities to gather information including the number of cross-border placements into residential care in Scotland and the location of these placements.
• In September 2025 the Scottish Government wrote to English placing authorities to gather updated information on the number of cross-border placements into both fostering and residential care in Scotland

Wider Public Sector

In relation to the residential care provision, the Scottish Government has undertaken significant stakeholder engagement on the development of the Regulations, including with the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS), Social Work Scotland (including the residential sub-group), COSLA, the office of the Children’s Commissioner for Scotland, Children’s Hearing’s Scotland and the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, The Promise Scotland, Child Health Commissioners, the Care Inspectorate, as well as Chief Social Work Officers from Scottish local authorities.

There were a high number of public sector representatives at the residential care engagement sessions noted above, spanning Scottish local authorities, NHS, HIS, Police Scotland, HMICS, SCRA, CI, SSSC, CHS and CYPCS.

In relation to the fostering provisions, we have engaged with COSLA, the Care Inspectorate, CELCIS, Social Work Scotland and Scottish Local Authorities. This has included providing a written update and bilateral conversations on key issues specific to fostering including the fostering agreement.

International

N/A

Business / Third Sector engagement – residential care provisions

We are only aware of cross-border placements being made primarily into private residential homes. Therefore, there has been targeted engagement with private sector providers. Focus was given to those with prior experience of hosting cross-border placements, including DoL order placements, as the new Regulations build upon the existing framework for DoL orders.

A total of 10 private residential providers attended one or more of our engagement sessions.

The Scottish Government also continues to engage with advocacy organisations and Clan Childlaw to discuss the implementation of the proposed provisions in relation to the provision of advocacy for children placed into residential care.

On 27 August 2025, the Scottish Government wrote to residential service providers in Scotland seeking information on the current cross-border placements in their service.

Business / Third Sector engagement – foster care provisions

Cross-border placements can be made to foster carers who foster with a Scottish Local Authority or registered fostering service. The Scottish Government continues to engage with the sector, including fostering services.

The Scottish Government has engaged with the National Association of Foster Carers who represent some registered fostering services and IFAs, as well as The Fostering Network who have membership from all fostering services in Scotland.

Public consultation

The Scottish Government launched a consultation on 30 March 2022, seeking feedback on policy proposals that shaped what became the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024. The consultation included questions in relation to cross-border placements and closed on 22 June 2022, obtaining 106 responses. As the Bill went through parliament, the Scottish Government undertook engagement with key stakeholders in relation to the powers contained within the Act for the regulation of cross-border placements.

In addition to the above consultation, significant engagement has been undertaken on the development of the Regulations (see sections above).