Foster Care Strategic Advisory Group minutes: October 2026

Attendees and apologies

• Louisa Brown (Chair), Scottish Government 

• Fiona Whitelock, COSLA 

• Caroline McDonald, Social Work Scotland 

• Sarah Thomas, The Fostering Network 

• Lydia Foster, Barnardo’s 

• Andrew Nelson, Care Inspectorate  

• Kirsty Doull, CELCIS 

• Matt Harrison, NAFP 

• Mike Bell, Scotland Excel  

• Andy Elvin, TACT Fostering  

• Chloe Riddell , The Promise Scotland  

• Susan Lloyd, IWGB Foster Carers Union 

• Lucy Whitehall, Scottish Government  

• Susan Fountain, Scottish Government 

Items and actions

Welcome, introductions and context 

The chair welcomed members to the inaugural meeting of the Foster Care Strategic Advisory group and thanked attendees for their participation. The purpose of the group, its role within the Future of Foster Care programme, and the importance of collaborative working across the sector were outlined. 

Members were reminded that the group has been established to provide strategic oversight, advice and constructive challenge to support the development and implementation of the Foster Care Delivery Plan. It was emphasised that the group brings together expertise from across fostering services, local government, representative bodies, the third sector and lived experience, and will play a key role in helping shape practical improvements for children, young people and foster carers. 

The chair noted the importance of developing the Delivery Plan within the context of the Scottish Government team's existing programme of work and ongoing policy commitments. She explained that the team approaches foster care primarily through the perspective of foster carers, their role and support needs, with improving children’s experiences and outcomes as the overarching purpose. Related work, including aftercare, continuing care and wider care experience provisions, is led by other teams. Its implications, risks and dependencies will inform this programme. The group was also updated on ongoing litigation concerning foster carers’ employment or worker status and relevant developments at UK level. The Chair confirmed regular engagement with UK Government colleagues, while explaining that she was limited in what she could share. Potential implications for the programme and sequencing would be kept under consideration, with further information shared when possible. 

The Chair emphasised that the programme should build on existing evidence, consultation and engagement, avoiding unnecessary repetition. The Minister had agreed the approach to developing a Delivery Plan; the detailed priorities and sequencing remained open for discussion. 

Members introduced themselves and their organisations. 

Terms of reference 

The group considered the draft Terms of Reference, including the proposed purpose, membership and ways of working. 

Officials clarified that the group is advisory rather than decision-making. It will provide advice and recommendations to the Scottish Government and Ministers, with policy and implementation decisions remaining with Ministers. Different perspectives should be heard and reflected in advice; unanimity was not expected. Members were also invited to consider whether a co-chair alongside the Scottish Government chair would be helpful. No conclusion on this was recorded. 

Key themes raised included: 

• broad support for the proposed role of the group as a strategic advisory forum focused on implementation of the Future of Foster Care programme 

• discussion regarding group membership and ensuring that the full range of relevant perspectives is represented. The chair highlighted feedback about a gap in remote, rural and island perspectives. Members supported further consideration of relevant local authority input 

• strong support for embedding lived experience throughout the programme, rather than relying solely on formal consultation processes. Members distinguished between consultation on proposals and participation in shaping the group’s work from the outset. Suggestions included direct membership for foster carers and an adult with experience of growing up in foster care 

• TFN outlined the potential for its Foster Care Advisory Board to nominate a representative, alongside continued engagement with that Board and its Young People’s Advisory Board. TFN also offered to help identify adults who had previously participated in its young people’s engagement arrangements 

• IWGB Foster Carers Union raised the potential relevance of other unions and fostering support organisations with members in Scotland, including whether partnership representation might be possible. No arrangement had been discussed or agreed with those organisations. The chair offered to follow this up separately 

• The Promise Scotland suggested making links to the Independent Care Review conclusions, Plan 24–30 and the route maps more explicit and strengthening consideration of emotional and practical support alongside financial support 

• recognition that engagement with foster carers, children, young people and adults with care experience should be purposeful, demonstrating clearly how views have informed decisions and future priorities. 

• discussion about how lived experience can be reflected both through wider engagement arrangements and any future short-life working groups 

Officials noted the feedback received and agreed to reflect this in a revised draft Terms of Reference for further consideration and agreement by members. Arrangements for direct lived experience participation would be explored further before being finalised. 

Draft work plan: priorities, sequencing and dependencies 

Members discussed the draft work plan and the proposed approach to developing the Foster Care Delivery Plan. 

There was broad agreement that the work plan should focus on practical improvements while recognising the scale and complexity of the implementation programme. 

Key discussion points included: 

• members asked for a clearer overarching aim or shared vision, drawing on the consultation and The Promise, to show how the individual workstreams contribute to common outcomes 

• members highlighted the importance of an evidence base describing the current position, including relevant information held locally, to inform planning and assessment of future needs 

• CELCIS emphasised the need to consider how success would be measured across the programme and within individual workstreams, informed by foster carers and people with experience of foster care. Implementation support and ongoing review would also be important 

• members emphasised the importance of considering recruitment, retention and support for foster carers alongside longer-term reform of fostering services. NAFP stressed the need to assess priorities against current placement pressures and limited resources, including identifying activity that could support recruitment and retention in the nearer term 

• there was strong support for bringing discussion of future fostering models into the programme at an early stage, rather than treating this as a separate or later piece of work. Members highlighted links to recruitment and retention and the risk of progressing reforms without considering the models they should support. Officials explained that the proposed medium-term timing partly reflected the potential funding requirements for pilots and agreed to revisit how early scoping and subsequent testing were presented 

• members highlighted the need to consider what a sustainable fostering system should look like in the longer term and how this aligns with The Promise and wider reform ambitions 

• several members stressed that foster care should not be considered in isolation from the wider care system. Discussion highlighted the interconnected nature of fostering, kinship care, residential care, adoption, support to birth families and wider sufficiency planning 

• it was noted that children often move between different forms of care throughout their journey and that policy development should reflect these interdependencies 

• concerns were raised about siloed approaches to care planning and support. Members suggested that there may be opportunities for greater collaboration across sectors, including shared training, support and learning 

• Members reflected on current placement pressures and agreed that any consideration of sufficiency should take account of wider changes in family-based care and support arrangements. 

• officials acknowledged the importance of adopting a whole-system perspective and highlighted links to broader work taking place across the sector in relation to care sufficiency and placement capacity 

• members sought greater clarity on the timetable and planning for the requirement for independent fostering providers to be charities. Officials explained that detailed transition planning remained at an early stage, with initial capacity focused on SRA legislation. They referred to the overall 2030 ambition and an anticipated transition period of 18 months to two years, while confirming that no commencement or transition start date had been proposed 

• members suggested a dedicated working group or implementation structure, drawing on learning from Wales. They stressed the importance of understanding the potential effects on children, carers and placements before implementation, and of regular, direct communication with foster carers. TFN offered to share relevant learning from Wales. Officials agreed to consider these suggestions; no new working group or timetable was agreed at this meeting 

It was agreed that further work would be undertaken to refine the work plan ahead of the next meeting, with a more detailed discussion on priorities, sequencing, ownership and timescales to follow. 

Delivery arrangements, short-life working groups and wider engagement 

Members considered delivery arrangements and wider engagement during the preceding discussions. Further consideration of priorities and the need for short-life working groups was proposed for the next meeting. 

Key themes included: 

• officials outlined a proposed approach in which the group provides strategic advice and challenge, supported by wider engagement and more detailed work through relevant partnerships and, where appropriate, short-life working groups. The initial focus and arrangements for such groups remained to be developed 

• recognition of the need to avoid duplication with existing groups and programmes of work 

• agreement on the importance of maintaining strong links with wider stakeholders and lived experience groups to inform implementation activity 

• discussion around ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place to capture and reflect the experiences of children, young people, adults with care experience and foster carers throughout implementation 

Officials advised that communications activity is being developed to support wider stakeholder awareness and engagement as the programme progresses. A first bulletin was being prepared for issue alongside the establishment of the Group, with regular updates intended thereafter. Members emphasised the importance of information reaching foster carers directly, while recognising the practical challenges of doing so. 

Summary and next steps 

The chair summarised the key themes arising from the discussion, including: 

• the importance of embedding lived experience throughout the programme 

• clearer links between the shared ambition, individual workstreams and The Promise 

• the need to consider fostering within the context of the wider care system and sufficiency agenda 

• the use of evidence, baseline information and measures of progress, including people’s experiences 

• support for early consideration of future fostering models alongside recruitment, retention and support activity 

• the importance of prioritisation and sequencing within the Delivery Plan to ensure implementation is realistic and manageable 

• regular communication and appropriate support and governance for implementation 

Closing remarks 

Members welcomed the opportunity to contribute at an early stage of the programme and recognised the value of bringing together a broad range of perspectives to inform implementation planning. It was noted that early engagement and collaborative discussion should help identify opportunities and challenges before decisions are finalised. 

The chair thanked members for their contributions and confirmed that the next meeting will take place on 8 December at 10:00am.