Financial transparency and profit limitation in children's residential care: consultation analysis

Footnotes

1 The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill was mistakenly referred to as the Children and Young People (Care and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill in the consultation document. This error has been corrected in this report. All references to ‘the Bill’ in this report relate to the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill.

2 The exact number of participants in the engagement sessions is not known, as it was not clear from the information provided whether organisational participants at these events were represented by more than one person.

3 Some respondents noted that service providers delivering multiple services will often cross-subsidise – meaning that a service in one area that has a surplus will partly subsidise a service elsewhere that is making a loss. There was a view that the policy should not seek to remove all surpluses – nor should it be seen as acceptable for services to make losses when providing care. Instead, it was suggested that services should be funded so that they are able to fully cover their costs.

4 Scottish Government: Financial Transparency and Profit Limitation in Children’s Residential Care: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment. August 2025.

5 The list of participating organisations is based on information provided by the Scottish Government.