Registered Fostering Agency (RFA) queries: FOI release

Information requested

What action is planned to eliminate the practice of RFA’s transferring money to their parent organisation in the form of loans?

What steps are being taken to recover the public funds extracted by creative accounting?

Response

In response to your first question, on the 17th June 2025 the Scottish Government introduced the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) (CCCESP) Bill. The Bill aims to makes changes in the law in relation to the children’s care system, and introduces measures that would require all RFAs be registered as charities. If passed, under the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, RFAs will be required to maintain detailed financial records, submit annual reports to OSCR, and ensure independent scrutiny of accounts. RFAs will be also be registered with OSCR whose charity test and reporting duties ensure any financial surplus is used for public benefit, not private gain, and will investigate concerns about mismanagement if they arise.

All documentation related to the CCCESP Bill is available at Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information and documents which are already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Regarding your second question, to date RFA’s have operated within the current not-for-profit governance, and while this alone does not prevent private profit extraction, it does mean that the Scottish Government cannot get involved in the contractual terms agreed between RFAs and local authorities. This is the reason why we consider legislative change necessary, and why the provision within the CCCESP Bill aims to replace the ambiguous ‘not-for-profit’ label with a clear legal framework.

We thank you for your patience in waiting for a response to these two questions. While we are now able to provide answers, as the CCCESP Bill has now been introduced, we are unable to provide additional information and documentation regarding the above, which are exempt under sections 29(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy) and 29(1)(b) (Ministerial communications) of FOISA. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500491955 - Information released - Annex

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