Scotland's Redress Scheme: combined annual report 2025

4.15 Mugdock Children’s Trust

This report is provided in recognition of the responsibilities entered into by the Mugdock Children’s Trust as contributors to the Redress Scotland Scheme. (Redress For Survivors (Historical Child Abuse In Care) (Scotland) Act 2021.

The Mugdock Children’s Home closed in 1980 following a prolonged decline in the number of children referred for care, presumably from local authority agencies. The Home was sold, and the sale proceeds were devoted to the establishment of the Mugdock Children’s Trust. The Trust is a small grant awarding body which provides grants to charities in Scotland supporting children in all areas of need, including those who have been the subject of abuse. The Trust gives grants typically in the range of £500 to £2,000. We have a small number of volunteer Trustees and no paid staff. The Mugdock Children’s Trust has not had any direct involvement in the care of children.

The Trust is sadly aware of the widespread reports of abuse of vulnerable children in establishments that should have been havens of support but were anything but. Despite efforts, the Trust can trace no records from the home which closed forty-five years ago. In this highly problematic situation Trustees are not able to confirm or otherwise the residence of any individual at the former children’s home. To date there have been no compensation payments reported by Redress to former residents of the Mugdock home.

Notwithstanding this, the Trustees acknowledge that the possibility of historical abuse within the Mugdock home exists and that if this is the case, as the successor organisation whose Trust Deed principles are the support of vulnerable children, we must support anyone adversely affected. This is the reason the Trustees elected to provide financial support to the Redress Scotland Scheme.

The Mugdock Children’s Trust appreciates the need for the provision of support in emotional, psychological and practical terms to victims who may have suffered abuse in The Mugdock Children’s Home before its closure in 1980. There is also a clear need to assist former residents with the accessing of records and reuniting families. Since the Mugdock Children’s Trust holds no records for the former children’s home, nor can identify a source of such records, we are in the invidious position of being unable to offer help in these regards. The Mugdock Children’s Trust stands ready to offer any support it can to former residents. Thus far there have been no payments made directly by the Mugdock Trust, nor by Redress Scotland on its behalf, as far as the Trust is aware, to any former resident. We have no paid staff and a small number of volunteer Trustees which limits our capacity to offer the support which victims of abuse so clearly deserve. During the reporting period (7 December 2023 to 6 December 2024) the Mugdock Children’s Trust has received no request for support from any former resident of the Mugdock Children’s Home.

If there were any children adversely affected by their time at Mugdock, this would be a source of profound sorrow, since these experiences would run absolutely counter to the aims of the former Mugdock home and the successor trust.

The Mugdock Children’s Trust has stood, stands now, and henceforward for the support, protection and development of children in Scotland who are vulnerable, disadvantaged, abused or underserved by statutory provision.

To date the Mugdock Children’s Trust has not been asked for an apology by any former residents, but the Trust stands ready to offer an unalloyed apology to any former resident who may have been harmed in any way during their stay at the former Mugdock Children’s Home.

Bill Dunwoodie

Secretary to the Mugdock Children’s Trust