Scottish government response to "reimagining secure care" report

1. Ministerial Foreword

I am pleased to introduce the Scottish Government’s response to the ‘Reimagining secure care’ report published by the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) in September 2024. I am grateful to all involved in the development of that report, and who have contributed to this agenda in recent months.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring Scotland’s system is one where children are first and foremost treated as children, with their rights and wellbeing at the heart of all decisions with, for, and about them. This vision aligns with our commitments to The Promise, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024, which recognise all under-18s as children.

Secure care provides an intensive, trauma-informed environment for a small number of Scotland’s children who are in acute need of safety, support and stability to meet their needs. The care and professionalism shown by the secure care workforce is vital and valued, and we appreciate the challenges they face in delivering this intensive support. The workforce across children’s services in all local authorities also play a crucial role. That applies across each child’s journey, but can most clearly be seen when these professionals lead on identifying and providing alternatives to deprivation of liberty where appropriate – working to ensure that every child can be cared for in a setting that best meets their needs and upholds their rights. They work tirelessly to provide the best possible care to children in the most difficult and complex circumstances.

The Scottish Government is committed to building on the current strengths of the system, while embracing a future vision for change. This may involve radical change when, and where, improvements to children’s experiences and outcomes demand that.

While it has always been our ambition to support children in community-based and family settings wherever possible, secure care remains a vital resource for a small number of children who are experiencing distress, pose significant risks to themselves and/or others, or come into conflict with the law in a way that requires their liberty to be deprived.

At the same time, our collective responsibility is to reduce the need for secure care. That means building a system that responds earlier and more effectively – ensuring that children and families are supported before crisis points are reached. Secure care should be part of a broader approach that prioritises early intervention, community-based supports, and trauma-informed services.

At the time of writing, we are still in the first year of delivering progressive care and justice reforms which reaffirm Scotland’s dedication to upholding children’s rights by ending the placement of children in Young Offenders’ Institutions (YOIs).

The ‘reimagining secure care’ report represents an important stimulus, but we recognise the broader issues that must be addressed first to ensure the resilience and sustainability of the system.

This includes restoring lost capacity within secure accommodation, strengthening preventative measures and alternatives to secure care to minimise demand on finite secure care resources, and strengthening the integration of services for children.

Change must also acknowledge wider policy and legislative reform and commitments. Those working within the system need the right capacity and confidence to deliver the best possible support for our most vulnerable children.

That is why we must support a phased and purposeful implementation. This means:

• Ensuring services and professionals have the time and resources to adapt.
• Developing and embedding the right statutory and regulatory framework.
• Supporting practice change through training, guidance and capacity building.
• Allowing space throughout for meaningful engagement with children, families, communities and practitioners.

We are already in the early chapters of this journey. The work to respond to acute capacity challenges in Scotland’s secure accommodation is now evolving into a proactive element of our broader future vision, and we have already been restoring capacity in the secure care estate to meet demand.

Contingency planning has rightly focused on responding to the immediate challenges – such as ensuring placement availability and stabilising the provision of secure accommodation. That has illuminated the bigger questions about the future of secure care:

• What kind of provision do we need in the future?
• How do we provide secure care as part of a broader continuum of care?
• How do we achieve cross-sector alignment across our health, education, housing, social work and justice services?

The way that Scotland answers these questions will set the tone for how we deliver change in the years ahead.

Our secure care system must continue to deliver for children in the here and now, and it will. We have restored capacity and we are keeping this under daily review. Throughout the months and years ahead, as change is implemented, we must maintain a resolute focus on supporting Scotland’s children, whose needs and rights must remain at the heart of the process.

Natalie Don-Innes

Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise