First minister 'hasn't got a clue' about kids in care

CRITICS have slammed Nicola Sturgeon about the number of children in care after she described herself as Scotland’s “chief mammy” and said: “I love all of you.”

nicola sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon 'mother of the nation' criticised over numbers of children in care (Image: Getty)

The First Minister was speaking at Who Cares? Scotland event in Glasgow on Friday to mark Care Day, which marks Holyrood passing the controversial Children and Young People (Scotland) Act. It introduced a named person for every child – although this part of the legislation was later thrown out by the UK Supreme Court – and also the term “corporate parent” for children in care. Ms Sturgeon said: “As the chief corporate parent in the country, it’s important that I am your advocate and defender. I love all of you.

“Together, we can make this country better for all our young people. We can do it in Scotland and be a beacon for the rest of the world.”

At a previous event organised by the same organisation in October, Ms Sturgeon described herself as “chief mammy!”

Yesterday, campaigners said the First Minister should be doing more to keep children out of care and providing extra support so they can stay at home with their parents.

Scotland has more children in care per head than any other part of the UK and most other Western countries, with the numbers increasing since the SNP came to power.

child care

Campaigners are calling for more support to stop children going into care (Image: getty)

There were 17,528 children either in care or on the child protection register in 2017, with the average cost running at around £100,000.

Maggie Mellon, a veteran social worker and former chair of the Scottish Child Law Centre, said: “It’s good that Nicola Sturgeon feels responsibility for children in care but the evidence is children are increasingly being taken into care instead of parents being given the support they need. What she should be doing is trying to keep children out of care.

“It is easy to say ‘I love you all’ but in fact children in care are treated quite badly, they have worse education outcomes, are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to end up in prison, more likely to suffer mental health problems and more likely to have children who are themselves taken into care.

“The focus should be on supporting actual parents, who are increasingly having to turn to food-banks and can’t afford heating because of the introduction of Universal Credit.

"More and more local authorities can’t afford to provide that support so social workers can’t really offer anything apart from removal into care.

“It’s easy to say she is Scotland’s ‘chief mammy’ but have children in care got her address if they become homeless? No. If a teenage girl in care falls pregnant, will Nicola Sturgeon offer to raise the child like a mother or grandmother would?

"No. It would be good to know what it actually means for any young person on the street, desperate and miserable or being abused in care. How can they get in touch with their mammy?”

Ms Mellon said the term corporate parent was a “complete oxymoron”, adding: “The state can’t be a parent because parents have an irrational love for their child, they put them above all else. The state won’t do that. I know of children who have been moved on from a home because there aren’t enough beds, for financial reasons. Would a parent do that?”

She also said Ms Sturgeon’s language would upset many parents trying to retrieve their children from the state, adding: “Parents see their children being destroyed in care while they are denied contact and marginalised until somebody realises they have made a total mess of the child’s life and then the parents are expected to pick up the pieces. 

“Rather than trying to be the chief mammy, Nicola Sturgeon should make sure there isn’t another generation of Scottish children being brought up by the state.”

There are 142 “corporate parents” in Scotland, including every council, every health board and every government department. The Scottish Government claims “the First Minister is recognised by care experienced children and young people as de facto ‘Chief Corporate Parent’.”

Campaigner Jim Mackie, from Garmouth, Moray, who has submitted a petition to Holyrood calling for a review of the care system, said: “Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t got a clue. I wrote to her and the letter was delivered to her office by Richard Lochhead but I’ve never heard back.

holyrood

A petition calling for a review of the care system was submitted to Holyrood (Image: getty)

"Politicians don’t understand what’s going on, social workers have got so much power and everybody is frightened to challenge them.”

Scottish Tory shadow education secretary Liz Smith said: “I doubt the First Minister’s words will be of comfort to any of Scotland’s 17,500 children in care or to any of those staff who care for them.

“Corporate parenting is a well-intentioned phrase which ought to mean the collective responsibility of agencies who come together to look after a child but that has often given way to state interference.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Of course the first priority should be to prevent children going into care. But the reality is it will not always be possible, nor will it always be in a child’s best interests.”

He added: “Public authorities owe a particular duty to children who are in the care of the state. 

“The First Minister takes very seriously her own responsibilities towards these children and young people, as well as her responsibility to set a clear example.”

Rate of children in care per 10,000
Finland - 151
Scotland - 145
The Netherlands - 114 
Denmark - 104
Wales - 95 
France - 93
Australia - 87
Norway - 79
Northern Ireland - 69
Sweden - 63
England - 62
Israel - 42
Italy - 32

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