On 7 May 2026 Scottish Parliament elections will take place, and political parties have published their manifestos outlining their policies and priorities for the next Scottish Government. At The Fostering Network, we shared our own manifesto with political parties to highlight our top campaign priorities, which we believe will improve foster care and the lives of care experienced children and young people in Scotland.
Our manifesto for Scotland
Our manifesto has three key strands. It urges all political parties to:
1. Focus on care-experienced children and young people
We’re challenging political parties to prioritise recruiting more local foster carers to enable every child to live with carers who can meet their needs in their communities. There needs to be more investment in children’s mental health services and additional support for learning, so every child can reach their full potential and thrive.
2. Support and value foster carers
We’ve been calling for a national recruitment and retention strategy for foster carers, a national register to recognise foster carers as skilled professionals, and improved financial and wellbeing support. We’ve long campaigned for a national fee framework for foster carers, as well as increases to the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA) which has been frozen for too long. We are pleased to see the recent 3.8% increase to the SRA and inflationary uplifts, as well as a pilot register enshrined in The Promise Bill and we urge all political parties to ensure they enact the measures in the bill.
3. Invest in and reform the wider system supporting children and young people with care experience
Care-experienced people continue to face multiple disadvantages in health, housing, justice, education and employment, so we’re asking parties to commit to introducing measures to tackle stigma and discrimination against them, and to support work to create a lifelong right to independent advocacy services.
You can read the full manifesto here.
Scottish party manifestos
We have reviewed the manifestos of Scottish political parties to understand their priorities for foster care and children’s wellbeing. Addressing child poverty, investing in children’s health services and supporting children to engage in education were key commitments among all parties which we are pleased to see as well as mentions to keep The Promise by the SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens.
Scottish National Party (SNP)
The SNP’s manifesto includes achievements they have already implemented from government, such as passing legislation to deliver aftercare support for 16-to-26-year-olds who were in care on their 16th birthday, reforms to the Children’s Hearing System and a £2,000 Care Leaver Payment to help young people transitioning from care into independent living. However, looking ahead, we are pleased to see a restated commitment to Keep the Promise by 2030 and the inclusion of care leavers in a proposed £50 million Homelessness Prevention Fund alongside people leaving prison and hospital. They also plan to expand more support to young people who have lived in kinship care.
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Greens’ manifesto includes a commitment to complete the delivery of The Promise by 2030. We are encouraged to see pledges to improve financial support, including a bold proposal to implement a Universal Basic Income for care leavers, ensuring young people leaving the care system are given secure and regular financial support.
Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour’s manifesto also includes a commitment to deliver the Promise and end the role of profit in care for children. We are encouraged to see support for mentoring programmes that help care experienced young people to reach their potential.
Reform UK Scotland
Reform UK Scotland’s manifesto is exceptionally light on care issues with no mention of the Promise, which we are disappointed to see. Their manifesto states that their reforms to local government will give councils greater flexibility and control over their social care services.
Scottish Liberal Democrats
We are encouraged to see a range of commitments relating to children’s care and care experienced young people in the Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto. Among them are a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of The Promise, reforms to minimise the time children spend in institutional care and prioritise children’s abilities to form and maintain loving relationships. A new scheme that works with young people to identify potential jobs, a pilot public sector traineeship for care leavers, and improved data on outcomes for care leavers are other key commitments.
Importantly, the Scottish Liberal Democrats call on the UK Government to make care experience a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
Scottish Conservatives
The Scottish Conservative party’s manifesto commits to delivering on the Promise by 2030, describing the Promise Bill as “a step in the right direction” but say it “will not fully deliver The Promise, saying they will deliver on the remaining recommendations from the Independent Care Review. However, the manifesto includes no specific policies around fostering and children’s care.
Scottish Parliament elections
We look forward to working with whoever forms the next Scottish Government to ensure fostering and children's social care is a top priority.
Find out more about the Scottish Parliament elections and your local candidates at the websites below:
