Future of foster care consultation

In 2022, the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) heard evidence from relevant experts, regulatory bodies and from survivors of abuse about foster care. A range of witnesses gave evidence, and some spoke about maintaining a national register or database of foster carers. There were varying views – some stakeholders expressed a view that a register would not add to existing mechanisms for recruitment while others supported the scheme as they felt that the current approach is not risk free and is reliant on the foster carer being honest about their previous residence. Currently, registration and de-registration of carers are functions of the foster care panel, and prospective foster carers are required to undergo suitability checks prior to being approved as foster carers. These checks include a criminal background check facilitated by the Disclosure Scheme.

A national database had been previously considered by the National Foster Care review in 2012, however at that time it was not taken forward and alternative strategies for realising the perceived benefits of a national database were explored.

SCAI has still to publish its findings in relation to the Phase 7 public hearings on foster care. However, in response to issues raised during the evidence sessions, the Scottish Government undertook some early engagement with stakeholders and foster carers to understand if a national register for foster carers in Scotland would benefit the sector. We heard a range of diverse opinions, and it was clear that there was no consensus.

To generate further views, we have set out below, based on what we have heard, suggestions for what a national register in Scotland could look like and do. We really welcome your thoughts to inform whether this idea merits further scoping out and would add value to the landscape.

A national register for foster carers in Scotland could sit independently from the national and local government, and we could explore options to use an existing organisation or a third sector organisation to hold the register. Data protection issues would need to be considered.

The primary purpose of a national foster care register for Scotland could be to increase public protection, improve ease of mobility across fostering agencies and increase safeguarding for children. To this end, we propose that the key aims of a national register for Scotland could be to:

• improve foster carer status, by bringing foster carers in line with other parts of the children’s workforce who are registered and regulated;
• support the process of transferring to a new agency or local authority, by enabling a foster carer’s ‘new’ foster service to carry out a simple check of their approval status;
• provide robust safeguarding measures, by enabling foster services to see whether a prospective carer has had their approval removed previously; and
• provide more local and national data to understand better when more foster carers are needed.

A national register may also have the potential to provide a national approach to matching foster carers with children and young people. In theory, this could enable children to stay in their local community (as it would cover both local authority and independent fostering agencies) and be matched with foster carers who are best suited to their needs. In addition, if there were no suitable local foster carers available, it may be easier through the register to access foster carers in bordering local authorities so a child could stay in the broad region, rather than a different part of the country. We would need to be mindful of unintended consequences, such as priority given to location over a child’s needs. A national register may also avoid local authorities incurring additional costs by using placements across the border in England, or other parts of the UK.

A national register could also be used as a tool to support sufficiency planning, to provide meaningful live data to drive commissioning and recruitment planning. It could inform workforce planning and development in addition to supporting foster carer recruitment planning. This might include, over time, the development of the register to include the skills, experience and learning undertaken by foster carers which might help with matching between foster carers and children and young people.