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

Step three – consultation

Who do you need to consult with?

To ensure that the proposed Regulations are appropriate, proportionate, and do not place any unintended or disproportionate burdens on island communities, we have undertaken a comprehensive consultation process. This included engagement with all Scottish local authorities, advocacy organisations, service providers operating across the residential sector and fostering services operating in Scotland.

Throughout this engagement, attention has been given to identifying and assessing any potential impacts on remote and island communities. This involved actively seeking the views and experiences of stakeholders based in these areas, recognising that their geographic, economic, and service delivery contexts may differ from those on the mainland.

How will you carry out your consultation and in what timescales?

In developing the policy to underpin the Regulations, the Scottish Government has undertaken several evidence gathering activities including:

• In March 2025, two open engagement sessions to present policy proposals.
• In August and September 2024, two stakeholder workshops to understand key challenges with cross-border placements and how the Regulations could help to address them. The outputs of these sessions can be found here.
• In July 2024 the Care Inspectorate published its thematic review of cross-border placements into Scotland. The report found pre-placement planning is key to all cross-border placements.
• In October 2023 the Scottish Government facilitated a stakeholder workshop to review the effectiveness of the 2022 Regulations.
• In August 2023 the Scottish Government worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) in England to gather information on a sample of cross-border placements where children are subject to voluntary arrangements to understand why these types of placements arise.

Given the majority of cross-border placements originate from England, the Scottish Government has worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (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.

What questions will you ask when considering how to address island realities?

N/A

What information has already been gathered through consultations and what concerns have been raised previously by island communities?

We have not had any feedback or concerns raised by island communities.

Is your consultation robust and meaningful and sufficient to comply with the Section 7 duty?

Yes