Future of foster care: consultation analysis – updated final report

1. Introduction

Background

A public consultation on the Future of Foster Care ran between 24 October 2024 and 6 February 2025. The consultation set out a vision for the future of foster care in Scotland that prioritises children’s experiences, and meets their many and varied needs, in a changing sector and society. It proposes a flexible approach to fostering, that builds on the unique skills and qualities of foster carers, good practice and innovation and is underpinned by comprehensive ongoing support for foster carers. The proposals have been developed in partnership with stakeholders, including the voices of children, young people, families and foster carers.

The Scottish Government seeks to ensure fostering is fully aligned to the national approach to supporting children, young people and their families in Scotland - Getting It Right for Every Child. In other words, it is intended that fostering be child-centred, providing a strengths-based, holistic approach to supporting children, young people and families when it is needed, for as long as it is needed.

In addition, the Scottish Government is committed to The Promise, which aims to ensure that children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected living in the family home, and that there will be enough support to make that happen, with extra help during difficult times. This will be achieved through collectively focusing on support in the early years, whole family wellbeing support and tackling child poverty. It is intended that, over time, this will increase the number of children who can be supported to live with their birth families. However, it is recognised that for some children, alternative family care across all settings, including foster care, will be needed to ensure their wellbeing and protection.

The consultation is part of a wider set of related public consultations and engagement to support the delivery of The Promise. These include the recent consultations about ‘Moving On’ From Care Into Adulthood, The Children’s Hearing Redesign and Developing a Universal Definition of ‘Care Experience’.

The consultation paper first sets out the strategic context, including the vision for the future of fostering. It then sets out proposed elements of a flexible fostering approach, including the potential role of Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) in delivering foster care. Proposals relating to the recruitment and retention of foster carers are then detailed, including a recruitment ‘offer’, frameworks for learning, support, allowances and fees and decision making, a national register of foster carers and guidance on managing allegations against foster carers.

Respondent profile

Public consultations invite everyone to express their views; individuals and organisations interested in the topic are more likely to respond than those without a direct or known interest. This self-selection means the views of respondents do not necessarily represent the views of the entire population.

In total, 103 consultation responses were received. Almost all were submitted via the online consultation platform, Citizen Space. Those received in an alternative format, for example, an email or PDF document, were reviewed separately by the research team.

Individuals provided 55 responses to the consultation; the remaining 48 responses were from organisations (see Appendix A for list of responding organisations). To aid analysis, organisations were grouped by the nature of their work. Table 1 shows the number of each type of respondent.

The analysis also included notes from 21 engagement events - 10 with foster carers, six with professionals, three with young people and one with local authorities (See Appendix B for full details). These events were an open forum for attendees to discuss the proposals, broadly structured around the consultation topics. The discussion at the events aligned very closely with the themes arising in the formal consultation responses so most are not reported separately here. However, where unique perspectives were raised, these have been noted in this report.

This report also incorporates relevant findings from a report produced by Who Cares? Scotland which summarises views expressed in their engagement with 42 care experienced young people aged nine to 25.

Analysis approach

The Lines Between was commissioned to provide a robust, independent analysis of the responses to the public consultation. The main purpose of consultation analysis is to understand the full range of views expressed and, where possible, using closed questions, to quantify how many respondents hold particular views. This report provides a thematic analysis of responses based on the analysis approach outlined below.

Reflecting the number and knowledge of respondents, it is impossible to detail every response in this report; some, especially organisations, shared lengthy submissions reflecting their specific subject matter expertise. These responses are referenced where possible. Full responses to the consultation, where permission for publication was granted, can be found on the Scottish Government’s consultation website.

Similarly, the nature of some of the proposals outlined in the consultation means it is impractical to fully repeat or explain these within this report. Further information on the proposals can be found in the consultation paper.

Quantitative analysis

The consultation included 12 closed questions. Not all respondents answered every question. To compare across sub-groups, this report presents the results of the closed questions based on those who answered each question. Each results table shows:

• The percentage of respondents from the total sample of 103 respondents who selected each response (grey row).
• The number and percentage response among those who answered each question, broken down by individual and organisation responses (rows including and under “All answering”).

Appendix C provides a full breakdown for each question, including a breakdown by each type of organisation answering. Please note that the row percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Qualitative analysis

Qualitative analysis identifies the key themes across responses to each question (see Appendix D for a list of all consultation questions). The research team developed a draft coding framework based on a review of the consultation questions and a sample of responses. During the coding process, new codes were created if additional themes emerged.

In a small number of instances where a response received via email or in a PDF document contained information that did not align with specific questions, analysts exercised judgment about the most relevant place to include this material for analysis purposes.

Notes from the engagement events were reviewed to identify any differences in opinion compared to the main sample and to identify any new themes. The themes evident in the events typically aligned with those evident in the main sample, but this report notes any additional or unique perspectives.

Where appropriate, quotes from a range of the 103 consultation responses are included to illustrate key points and provide useful examples, insights and contextual information.

When reviewing the qualitative analysis, we would ask the reader to consider the following:

• Many respondents repeatedly raised the same issues or suggestions at multiple questions, regardless of the specific focus of the question. These views are all included in this report, but analysts exercised judgment about the most relevant place to include each theme to avoid repetition.
• The detailed nature of responses from many individuals suggests that they are heavily involved in the sector in some way. However, as it is not possible to identify their roles or the nature of their work, individual respondents are referred to as ‘individuals’ throughout this report.
• Qualitative questions were included in the consultation to allow respondents to elaborate on the views they recorded at the closed questions. However, not all respondents chose to comment, and those who did provided varying levels of detail. Therefore, the qualitative analysis can only be based on the information provided by those who commented.
• It is possible that some respondents have not fully read or engaged with the consultation paper, leading to answers which do not directly address the questions. These answers have been noted in the report.

Weight of opinion

This report presents the themes identified in responses from most to least commonly mentioned. All themes, including views shared by small numbers of respondents, are covered; a view expressed by a very small number of participants is not given less weight than more general comments shared by a majority.

Similarly, all responses have an equal weighting. We recognise this means a response from an individual has the same weight as the response from an organisation which may represent many members, but this approach ensures all views are presented.

Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions does not permit the quantification of results. However, to assist the reader in interpreting the findings, a framework is used to convey the most to least commonly identified themes in responses to each question:

• Many respondents, 30 or more respondents, a prevalent theme.
• Several respondents, between 15 and 29 respondents, a recurring theme.
• Some respondents, between five and 14 respondents, another theme.
• A few / a small number, fewer than five respondents, a less commonly mentioned theme.
• Two/one respondent; a singular comment or a view identified in only one or two responses.