Social Justice in Scotland - Scottish Conservatives

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In the run up to the May 2016 election and the publication of our manifesto, we talked to a wide range of councillors, c
SOCIAL JUSTICE IN SCOTLAND A discussion paper

Social Justice in Scotland

Social Justice in Scotland

Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The background: a false start for Christie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Our approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Addiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 The current situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Our view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Family breakdow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 The current situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Our view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Adoption and children in care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 The current situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Our view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Reoffending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 The current situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Our view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Mental health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 The current situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Our view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 The attainment gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Current situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Our view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

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Social Justice in Scotland

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Social Justice in Scotland Foreword Scotland is changing and the Scottish Parliament must change with it. New powers over welfare, taxation and spending require us to consider new ways to support those across our society who need the help of government. I want the Scottish Conservatives to be the torch bearers of social justice, with the ideas and passion to make real improvements across Scotland. While the work continues on how best to use these new powers, it is important to evaluate the current system, and what can already be enacted to make a positive difference. This short paper is designed to start a debate on how – in a time of tight public finances and increasing demand – we still ensure good services for the most vulnerable people in our society. It looks, specifically, at areas that are already devolved and sets out some initial thoughts on where we think progress can be made – and where things are going wrong. It comes five years after the landmark Christie Commission report, which backed a major change in the way we deliver services in Scotland. This report makes clear we have fallen far short of that vision. So, over the coming months, we will be talking to organisations and individuals working in these fields on how to make bigger, bolder changes as the new powers come in. The end goal is a better society. And I wholeheartedly commit the Scottish Conservatives to playing our part in making it happen.

Ruth Davidson MSP Leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

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Social Justice in Scotland

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Social Justice in Scotland INTRODUCTION New powers and a new debate In the coming months, Scotland assumes significant powers over tax, welfare, benefits and spending. This is a new era for Scotland. It will prompt lively discussion over the purpose and extent of social policy. We have two core aims when it comes to the benefits system. We want to be supportive of those who cannot work, and we want to be effective at getting those who are able to work into employment. This is not an either/or situation. Both aims are equally important and neither should be sacrificed in the name of the other. This document – a view on existing powers But while we believe that tax and benefit powers are critical – and that their purpose and design will be one of the most important challenges Holyrood has ever faced - they are not the only tools to promote social justice. Many root causes of poverty and deprivation lie outside the remit of the benefit system. And equally, many policy areas have been devolved for a decade. We believe that even as Scotland assumes new powers, the SNP cannot escape scrutiny for its record. As such, as a first contribution to the debate on social justice and as a precursor to the wider debate on tax, benefits and social security, this paper covers areas where power is already largely devolved. In particular, it looks at policy in the context of the 2011 report of the Christie Commission. It covers six interlinked issues affecting the most vulnerable people in our society: addiction, family breakdown, children in care, reoffending, mental health and the attainment gap. It covers what voluntary groups in each field are saying, and starts to chart a constructive way forward – both recognising successes where they exist, but also pointing out where things could be so much better. What we will do next In the run up to the May 2016 election and the publication of our manifesto, we talked to a wide range of councillors, charities, volunteers, social enterprises and businesses working in these areas. As the debate over new tax and benefit powers begins, we will carry on this work, and listen to frontline staff. Our aim is to take the analysis in this paper, continue our engagement, and develop our ideas into a positive, progressive alternative to the SNP.

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Social Justice in Scotland

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Social Justice in Scotland THE BACKGROUND: A FALSE START FOR CHRISTIE

regionalisation, like the joining of NHS and social care, but many local communities are uncertain on the eventual shape of services, and the SNP have refused to say which hospitals or units will be affected.

The consensus on Christie Five years ago, the Christie Commission published its landmark report on public services in Scotland. The theme running through the Christie report is arguably the defining policy challenge of the decade: how to achieve more with less. How can the most vulnerable people in society be cared for, when public finances are tight? When society is ageing and demand is rising, what does the state have to do to remain sustainable? In an era of rapid change, how can the state best meet its social obligations? The answer the Christie report proposed was a mixture of reform of services, and rethinking how government organised itself: •

Fully 40 per cent of state spending went on treating ‘failure demand’ – problems that could have been solved earlier, if spending had been focussed on prevention or early intervention.



Reforms had to ‘empower’ communities and individuals, by making sure that services were designed around them. Experts in the field had to be consulted, and the knowledge of people providing services tapped.



Public service providers were encouraged to work together and integrate services, rather than duplicate efforts.



Local and central government were asked to form solid strategic plans together, working with a long-term horizon in mind.



Service providers from all sectors had to be more efficient, and there had to be stronger accountability for services.

Policy continues to focus on treating problems rather than preventing them

Family breakdown is estimated to cost around £3 billion a year in Scotland – roughly 10 per cent of annual departmental spending - but there is no national framework or policy on the issue. Councils support residential care services for children to the tune of around £250 million a year, but Scotland still lacks enough prospective adopters. Prison costs over £30,000 a year per prisoner, but reoffending rates are static and increasing for some crimes.

2.

The role of local government is unclear

Christie called for an explicit partnership between central and local government. This makes sense: many social issues are best tackled at a local level, and the overall framework of local government, central government and the voluntary and community sector needs to be consistent and clear. But the SNP shows a deep confusion over what role it sees for local government. It has centralised important services, imposed top-down restrictions on funding and abandoned the principle of local taxation being used for local purposes. But the majority of services linked to this document are provided by local authorities – and central government still has an expectation that councils will pick up the bill for vital social issues.

Making Christie happen: one step forward, two steps back In the years since the Christie report, some conclusions have been implemented patchily – particularly on integrating services: Some services such as Police and Fire services, for example, have been reorganised with the aim of better efficiency and coordination – but in almost total defiance of public opinion and with front-line staff reporting a lack of consultation. Other services are moving towards integration and

1.

But five years after Christie set the agenda by calling for earlier intervention, the balance of energy and funding still goes on tackling symptoms, not causes.

Its framework was broadly accepted – and political parties, local authorities, civil servants, charities, lobby groups and the media have accepted the Christie principles since.



In particular:

Moving to a preventative state is not easy.

The report was the catalyst for a political consensus.



The policy areas reviewed in this document show that five years on from Christie, some of its other conclusions are still far away from being a reality.

Local authorities and their representative groups are becoming increasingly vocal about their treatment under the SNP, and it is hard to see relationships improving soon. This is becoming unsustainable. 3.

Long-term thinking is sorely lacking

The Christie report explicitly tried to look at services on a long-term horizon by factoring in major social trends. The most important influences on public services, such as the public finances and an ageing society, are enormous changes

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Social Justice in Scotland – but are also predictable, and something government can plan for. The SNP has moved in the opposite direction. In 2011, a spending review was presented with a draft budget for 2012-13, and plans up to 2014-15. A draft budget and plans for the following year were published in 2012 and 2013. But in 2014 and 2015, only the draft budget was published, without any longer-term thinking. This inability to look beyond single financial years leads to a culture of short-termism, and reduces the ability of councils and charities to plan. This is compounded by confusing budget moves. Addiction, for example, saw funding shifted from the justice budget to health, meaning several months of confusion for charities at the tail end of one financial year – a sleight of hand that effectively covered up the scale of cuts to charities. Combined with poor relationships with local government, the Christie vision of long-term thinking and smart strategic planning is nowhere near the reality. We believe that in the context of a tight fiscal settlement, clarity over funding becomes particularly important. 4.

councils’. But only around 40 per cent of pupils from deprived backgrounds attend schools in deprived councils – meaning the money would be badly targeted. At the time of writing, the Scottish Government is consulting on how to target the money, and we understand that they are likely to focus on a more targeted approach, linking funding to pupils – but the exact mechanism is unclear. Analysis of the Scottish Budget shows that approximately £1.5 billion is spent on universal services such as prescription costs or free university tuition. By definition, these benefit the wealthy as well as less affluent. Other reviews, such as the Beveridge Independent Review of the Scottish Budget, have called for greater scrutiny of universal benefits. Public spending is likely to be tight for a significant period of time, regardless of who is in power. We should be absolutely explicit: in these circumstances, every pound spent on one policy deprives another of funding. Universalism sharpens this choice. The charities in this document expressing concern over funding, and the views of local government concerned about their funding, should be seen in this light: the SNP chooses to target money at middle- and upper- income families, to the disadvantage of groups with greater need. We agree with Christie: the overall thrust of policy should be to target scarce resources at those who need it most.

Headline policies hide deeper failures

The SNP tend to use a select number of policies to deflect criticism from other areas. In education, for example, free university tuition for EU students is held up as progressive while college places have been slashed; in health, overall funding statistics disguise the chronic underfunding of mental health services; in addiction, fanfare attached to the headline Road to Recovery policy ignores the evidence on drug deaths. The effect is to entrench a small number of eye-catching initiatives – when a calmer, more comprehensive overview might lead to a better allocation of resources. This completely breaks the spirit of Christie, which is to think strategically about the purpose and scope of public services – and more importantly, hurts the most vulnerable people who need services which are lower-profile, but equally vital. 5.

The need for smarter targeting

The Christie report was clear that resources have to be directed effectively – there is simply not the money or capacity for waste or badly-targeted policies. This remains a weakness in social policy. For example, pressure from the Scottish Conservatives led the SNP to change their approach to funding aiming to close the attainment gap. It originally was aimed at ‘the most deprived Page 8

Social Justice in Scotland OUR APPROACH Just as a number of themes unite the SNP’s failure to redeem the vision of the Christie Commission, we would take an approach that aims to address these failures. These themes are listed below, with a select number of policies highlighted. In the rest of this document, we examine six social policy issues. At the end of each section, further ideas and specific policies are discussed.

builds into the process, and clarify what is expected of local authorities. 3.

For example: •

We believe that charities in all the sectors discussed in this paper deserve clarity over funding. Accepting that funding settlements may be tight, we believe that the Scottish Government should, where possible, commit to openly explaining the consequences of funding decisions, rather than shifting budgets between departments and seeking to push responsibility for funding decisions to other organisations or councils.



There are many innovative charities working in prisoner rehabilitation. We think their work could be supported through funding mechanisms which focus money on outcomes. We would consider the introduction of payment-by-results schemes, which would offer increasing payments to voluntary sector partners who succeed in curbing reoffending for their individual clients; and believe there would be mileage in exploring new funding mechanisms, such as social bonds, or accounting for savings further down the justice system in courts or prisons by investing in preventative services.

4.

Think more strategically about the use of resources

Our approach to social justice would: 1.

Focus on preventative spending

For example: •

Family breakdown has high human and fiscal costs. In our 2016 manifesto we proposed the creation of a Crisis Family Fund. This would involve identifying families with complex needs and providing tailored support to them directly on a payment-by-results basis, with funding available to delivery partners for a positive outcome. This could range from helping with school attendance and reoffending through mental health and substance abuse to tackling domestic violence, and providing relationship support.



In mental health, the ambition should be to provide dedicated mental health support in every GP surgery and every A&E department. We would also like to see more counselling available in secondary schools – an area where Scottish schools are lagging behind the rest of the UK - reducing the pressure on higher-acuity services further along the treatment process.

2.

Give clarity on the role of local government

For example: •

Our objections to the Named Persons scheme are on record: a scheme which has the virtuous theoretical aim of coordinating services but will end up causing more harm, by diverting resources away from those children who need most state help, and over-burdening teachers, health visitors and social workers with unnecessary demands. We would move away from this sort of policy which is poor use of professionals’ time and taxpayers’ money.



The SNP’s mental health strategy has been criticised for a lack of overall vision. We also think that the ambition of parity of esteem will not be possible, and the transformation necessary not be practical, without sufficient funding. We will continue to argue for an additional £300 million to be invested in improving mental health treatment over the next Parliament. This should be used to improve capacity and staffing across the health service.

For example: •



We will support real devolution to schools, but think the SNP needs to think much more clearly about how their policies work in different parts of Scotland if schools, teachers and councils are to be clear on their respective roles in closing the attainment gap. If schools were autonomous, for example, they could organise themselves into clusters of schools in the same geographical area working collaboratively together - but without accompanying formal bureaucratic structures of regional management, which seems to be the approach the SNP is taking. We suggest a range of ways to improve adoption rates, including speeding up the move of an adoption register online and appointing an adoption ‘tsar’. We would also refresh 2011 guidance to local authorities. Legislation governing adoption may not need a change, given the relatively recent 2014 act governing the subject – but we know from experience that guidance can often determine how councils behave, and a review of guidance that sits alongside the legislation would identify any delays that local government policy

Move to longer-term financial planning and thinking

5.

Target money at the most needy

For example: •

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The Scottish Government has proposed offering 30 hours of childcare a week, mostly for three and fouryear olds. We will push the case for offering more of these hours to one and two- year olds, particularly

Social Justice in Scotland those from deprived communities, as flexibly as possible. This is the best investment we can make in cutting the attainment gap and ensuring children from poorer families start school on an equal footing – and means that money is prioritised for those who need it most. •

We support efforts by Scotland’s Adoption Register to explore moving to an online service. Given the small amount of money required, by government standards, and the likely relative impact of the spending, we would support a one-off central grant to speed up this work.

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Social Justice in Scotland problems. It is really concerning that alcohol and drug services across Scotland are facing a 22 per cent funding cut in direct funding from Scottish Government, and we know health boards are unable to make up the shortfall.” (Scotsman, 27 August 2016).

ADDICTION The current situation Drug-related deaths have hit a record high •

Statistics published by the National Records of Scotland showed 706 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland in 2015, the largest number ever recorded. This represents an increase of 15 per cent from 2014, and is more than double the figure for 2005 (National Records of Scotland, 17 August 2016).



The Scottish Drugs Forum responded to these figures, which represent almost two overdose deaths every day, by describing them as ‘a national tragedy’ and calling for an improvements and expansions of treatment and care services (Scottish Drugs Forum, 17 August 2016).

The SNP confused charities by cutting budgets – without actually telling them The Scottish Government draft budget published in December 2015 included a reduction in the combined drug and alcohol funding from £69.2 million in 201516 to £53.8 million in 2016-17, a cut of over 22 per cent (Scottish Drugs Forum, 29 January 2016).



Even after the SNP attempted to clarify the situation, funding was uncertain. The SNP confirmed that funding for addiction would be moved from justice to health budgets. But it emerged that health boards would be ‘expected’ to maintain funding – not required. In the face of their own budget reductions, health boards are in practice less likely to maintain spending. Many charities were hit by the uncertainty. For example, Community Alcohol and Drugs Services Shetland (CADSS) was forced to shut at a time when heroin is presenting serious problems in their community, after warning: “Against the backdrop of limited resources and insecurities over core funding, it has continued to be difficult to plan or develop services. Uncertainty over the direction of the substitute prescribing service …has made it difficult to plan service development, which in turn impacts on funding” (Herald, 28 August 2016).



Addaction Scotland said: “The situation of increasing drug related deaths is not helped by the uncertainty of current and future funding of services” (BBC News, 17 August 2016).





CrossReach, the Church of Scotland’s social services provider, stated: “The increase in drug-related deaths is a great cause for concern. These figures are deeply distressing and Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships are struggling due to increasing demand for their services while government funding diminishes. It would appear to be related that less funding for treatment leads to more deaths” (Daily Record, 25 August 2016). Addaction added, “Across Addaction we are concerned when essential services like ours are often being asked to make efficiency savings of around 20 per cent” (BBC News, 17 August 2016).









Even the Scottish Government’s key strategy to battle Scotland’s drug problem has had its funding cut by more than £250,000, or 11.3 per cent. The Road to Recovery programme has been the centrepiece of the SNP approach to drugs, and places the emphasis on methadone programmes. (The Courier, 18 August 2016).

The SNP’s flagship programme has lost the trust of experts and is keeping too many people on drugs – rather than leading to meaningful treatment •

The Road to Recovery programme has been criticised by influential academic Professor Neil McKeganey for feeding addictions and creating a ‘financial black hole’ rather than helping people get off drugs. He argues that it is more likely to ‘park’ people on methadone than lead to meaningful treatment, and fails to treat the problem of addiction at source (Daily Record, 5 September 2016).



Just £500,000 of public money has been spent on abstinence programmes across Scotland, or about 0.08 per cent of the money spent on the Road to Recovery programme (Daily Record, 12 September 2016).

Our view •

We believe that a smarter approach is needed, and that the statistics on drug deaths demand a new approach.

Experts in the sector are generally agreed that the move from justice to health budgets will result in spending cuts of around £15 million, or about 20 per cent. (Herald, 30 January 2016).



We will engage with charities to understand what local alternatives to the SNP’s centralised programme might exist – and what ideas from other countries could replace a failing system.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Treatment services provide crucial support to people who are struggling with alcohol



We believe in the need to support smaller, abstinencebased, local programmes – not simply a blanket approach of substituting illegal drugs with methadone,

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Social Justice in Scotland without any meaningful progress in treatment or commitment to a reducing dose. •

We believe that charities deserve clarity over funding. Accepting that funding settlements may be tight, we believe that the Scottish Government should, where possible, commit to openly explaining the consequences of funding decisions, rather than shifting budgets between departments and seeking to push responsibility for funding decisions to other organisations.

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Social Justice in Scotland FAMILY BREAKDOWN

Our view

The current situation



Our objections to the Named Persons scheme are on record: a scheme which has the virtuous theoretical aim of coordinating services but will end up causing more harm, by diverting resources away from those children who need most state help, and over-burdening teachers, health visitors and social workers with unnecessary demands.



In the 2016 Scottish Election manifesto we proposed the creation of a Crisis Family Fund. This would involve identifying families with complex needs and providing tailored support to them directly on a payment-byresults basis, with funding available to delivery partners for a positive outcome. This could range from helping with school attendance and reoffending through mental health and substance abuse to tackling domestic violence and providing relationship support.



One suggestion made in an All-Party Parliamentary Group report on support for families is a network of Family Hubs, which would provide relationship, employment and parenting support which will strengthen families and provide security and support should parents separate. We believe this proposal should be considered by the Scottish Government.



The Scottish Government has proposed offering 30 hours of childcare a week, mostly for three and four year olds. We will push the case for offering more of these hours to one and two year olds, particularly those from deprived communities, as flexibly as possible. This is the best investment we can make in cutting the attainment gap and ensuring children from poorer families start school on an equal footing.

Family breakdown is a leading cause of poverty and further problems •

Family breakdown is estimated to cost the Scottish economy £3.84 billion per year, through tax credits, housing, care, free school meals, and other state support (Relationships Scotland, 2016).



Over 17 per cent of homeless applications in Scotland are made due to relationship breakdowns. This figure remains in line with the historical average over the last 9 years. It is also higher than the equivalent figure in England (5 per cent), and in Wales (9.6 per cent) (Scottish Government; House of Commons Library; Welsh Government).



Concern over family relationships is the second most common reason for Childline phone calls, and is the top reason for 12-15 year olds. Over 39,000 counselling sessions took place last year due to family conflict (Childline Annual Review 2015-16).



Prisoners are 39 per cent less likely to reoffend if they maintain strong family ties while in prison according to Barnardo’s (Just Visiting, Barnardo’s, 2014, link; see also G4S Security (link) and Sapouna et al, 2011)



9 out of 10 GPs say they spent time talking to patients about relationship problems. (Citizens Advice, 2015).



Children living in troubled homes are far more likely to exhibit behavioural problems and are far more likely to suffer from mental health problems such as depression (Medscape, see also mentalhealth.org,).

Prevention and mediation services can save money •

CEO of Relationships Scotland, Stuart Valentine, said “Parents often lose focus on their children as they battle with their ex-partner to determine who gets what, and who the children are going to live with…Research shows that mediation is quicker, less costly and more effective than court action in helping divorcing and separating couples. Mediation helps parents make a decision to work together in the best interests of their children. We need to act now to help more parents and families find their own solutions” (Dunfermline Press, 23 April 2016).



The Joseph Rowntree Foundation recognised the importance of family relationships in its recent antipoverty strategy, stating: “A child’s future prospects are strongly affected by their childhood experiences, the relationships they have with their parents and other significant adults in their lives and by the relationships their parents have with each other.”(JRF, 2016)

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Social Justice in Scotland ADOPTION AND CHILDREN IN CARE

living with prospective adopters was 262, or 1.6 per cent of all children in care. By 2014, the number was 264, or 1.7 per cent of all children in care (Scottish Government, 2016).

The current situation Scotland has a high number of children in care •

Given differences in methodology, it is difficult to make direct comparisons on the rate of looked after children between Scotland and the rest of the UK. However, the trend within Scotland is clear. The rate was broadly static for several decades, before rising significantly in the early 2000s. There are now over 15,000 looked after children in Scotland. (Scottish Government, 2015).

Residential care services for children are expensive for councils to run •

Local Authorities spend around £250 million a year supporting residential care services for children, equal to over £150,000 per child per year (Audit Scotland, 2010).



Approximately 800 additional foster families are required, according to the Fostering Network (The Fostering Network).



Of children in care who are looked after away from their own home or family, 76 per cent are with foster families. This is lower than the UK average of 80 per cent. England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have figures of 79 per cent, 85 per cent, and 86 per cent respectively (ibid).



Robin Duncan, manager of Scotland’s Adoption Register, states ‘we still don’t have enough adoptive families in Scotland for all the children needing placements – we particularly struggle to find families for children who are a bit older or have complicated needs – such as learning difficulties’ (The Scotsman, 15 October 2015).

Children leaving care experience worse outcomes than other children •







More than one in ten young people leaving care in Scotland experience homelessness within two years (Getting it right for children in residential care, Audit Scotland, September 2010).

Adoption still takes too long and families often lack support

A 2010 report found that over 25 per cent of the UK adult prison population had been in care – compared to just 2 per cent of the overall adult population (ibid). 14 per cent of looked-after school leavers receive no qualifications, while only 8 per cent receive one or more qualifications at SCQF level 6 or better. Although these figures are an improvement on previous years, they remain significantly worse than the average for all school leavers of 2 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, and have done since records began (Scottish Government, 2016). 77 per cent of looked-after school pupils leave to enter further education, employment, or training, while 69 per cent have a positive follow-up destination. Although this is an improvement on previous years, progress remains significantly below the average for all school leavers of 93 per cent and 92 per cent respectively, and have done since records began (Scottish Government, 2016).

Adoption rates in Scotland still lag behind demand, and Scotland lacks foster and adoptive families •



The number of adoptions of children from care increased in the early 2000s, but has remained broadly flat in recent years. In the last available figures, the proportion of children leaving care for adoption dropped, from 7.2 per cent to 6.9 per cent between 2014 and 2015 (Scottish Government, 2016).



It takes on average over two years to secure an adoption, from a family’s first involvement with state services. In extreme cases, it has taken up to ten years (Scottish Government, 2016).



Adopters often report isolation and frustration – feeling like the process feels drawn-out, and that support and networking with other adopters is sorely lacking (Scottish Conservative interview with prospective adopters, September 2016).

Scotland gives less support to foster carers than the rest of the UK •

Scotland is the only part of the UK without a statutory minimum standard of financial support for foster carers (Herald, 21 January 2016).



88 per cent of Scottish councils pay less than the basic minimum support for foster carers for 0-4 year olds of £159 per week in Wales, and 25 per cent do not match the allowance rate in England and Northern Ireland of £199 per week. Two local authorities do not even pay £100 per week (The Herald, 21st January 2016).



Sara Lurie, Director of The Fostering Network in Scotland, said: “Good intentions can’t meet the needs of children if the hands are tied by financial constraints. We have repeatedly expressed concerns about foster carers potentially having to subsidise their fostering to the Scottish Government, and we will continue to do so.”



She added, “The Scottish Government is abdicating its responsibility as corporate parent. We do understand that the Government has said that they will at some

In 2012, the number of children in care who were Page 14

Social Justice in Scotland point pull together a working group to discuss national minimum foster carer allowances - however this has been promised for a number of years and not been delivered, as such we are concerned that their lack of haste will continue to mean that foster carers have to dig into their own pockets to ensure that children are properly supported.” (The Fostering Network, 2016). •

Foster carers themselves express their concerns. Emily, a foster carer, told a charity: “Not receiving a fair allowance could impact massively on foster care in Scotland because the hundreds of would-be new foster carers which are needed in Scotland might be put off by the lack of financial assurance. No one fosters for the money, ask any foster carer that, but people shouldn’t be out of pocket when taking children into their homes.” (The Fostering Network, 2016).

Families are required to fill out a form outlining their income and circumstances and submit it to the Scottish Government. This is itself no particular cause for concern, but the SNP have traditionally argued against means-testing on a range of practical and principled grounds. To see it applied to one social issue in particular is unusual. The Scottish Government has taken some positive steps – but needs to do more •

Earlier this year, Scotland’s Adoption Register, a system which aims to match children and families, was made statutory – so all local authorities have to refer children to the register.



This is a sensible reform, but more could be done to make the Register a live, useful resource. In particular, bringing its services online could radically simplify and speed up matching between families and parents.

Too many children in care bounce between different places •





Since 2010, more children have been in placements that lasted over five years. But for shorter-term placements, the length of care episode has remained more or less the same. In 2010, 16 per cent of care placements lasted less than six months – which may not necessarily mean patchy care, but is generally assumed to mean short-term placements when permanent placements are more desirable. By 2015, that had only dropped to 15 per cent. (Scottish Government, 2016) There is a particular issue with early teenage years. In the 12-15 age group, only 13 per cent had experienced a care placement over 5 years, while 41 per cent had experienced a placement lasting less than a year. 22 per cent were less than 6 months (ibid).

Our view •

In adoption, the key objective of policy should be to speed up the whole process. It should be as simple as possible, within the limits of thorough checks and assessing compatibility of child and parents, to register as an adopter or foster family.



We support efforts by Scotland’s Adoption Register to explore moving to an online service. Given the small amount of money required by government standards, and the likely relative impact of the spending, we would support a one-off central grant to speed up this work.



We would refresh 2011 guidance to local authorities. Legislation governing adoption may not need a change, given the relatively recent 2014 act governing many of the above issues. However, some of the guidance is older, and a review of guidance that sits alongside the legislation would identify any delays that local government policy builds into the process.



Many adoption agencies are carrying out recruitment campaigns to attract new adopters, and should be congratulated on its efforts to raise the profile of adoption. We believe this work may be helped by the creation of an adoption ‘tsar’. This would be a voluntary post, supported by a small logistics, campaigns and office budget, appointed by Scottish Ministers, tasked with coordinating and encouraging efforts to raise the profile of adoption.



Similarly, we believe this could help change attitudes to foster families – in raising awareness of fostering, but also in changing perceptions of fostering away from the view it is only for ‘difficult’ children cared for by effectively semi-professional foster parents, to making it a much more common, familiar set-up for families. This would, we believe, be one step to improving the supply of foster parents, making care placements last longer, and ultimately improving the outcomes of looked-after children.

Research by Action for Children showed that almost 2,000 children in care had two or more placements between April 2014 and March 2015 (The Scotsman, 15 October 2015).

Children leaving care often miss out on crucial support •

Children leaving care are supposed to have a pathway plan, to give them support and guidance as they move on. Local authorities have a statutory duty to offer support services, usually known as aftercare. But 25 per cent of children leaving care have no pathway plan, and 1 in 3 had no aftercare. (Scottish Government, 2016)



Fully 1 in 10 are marked as ‘unknown’, meaning that councils have no information on their status (ibid).

The SNP don’t believe in means-testing…unless it applies to adoption •

In 2013 the SNP introduced a charge for inter-country adoption. This applies to children adopted outside the British Isles, and asks families to pay a £1675 charge. It is means-tested, with a reduction of up to 50 per cent for households with an income up to £45,000. Page 15

Social Justice in Scotland REOFFENDING The current situation



HM Inspector of Prisons for Scotland’s annual report last year said: “There is still a disappointing level of purposeful activity in practice in some prisons. We found that there were too few places for work, education and training opportunities for the size of the population” (HMIPS, 2015)



In March 2016, the Scottish Government changed the definition of ‘purposeful activity’, saying that ‘The definition of purposeful activity… is being amended to provide flexibility in the definition and wide discretion over which activities a governor can provide for prisoners.’ This allows prisons to reclassify activities that would previously not count as ‘purposeful’ – allowing them to start hitting targets without changing any prisoner activity (Scottish Government, 2016).

Reoffending rates are still too high •



There has been modest progress in reducing reconviction rates. The latest Scottish Government figures showed a 0.6 per cent drop in reconviction between 2012-13 and 2013-14. 28.3 per cent of people convicted in 2013-14 were reconvicted within one year, compared to 31.8 per cent in 1997/98. In other words, despite the drop, one in three criminals commit crime again within 12 months (Scottish Government, May 2016). This overall minor reduction also hides increases in certain types of crime. The reconviction rate for crimes of dishonesty increased from 40.3 per cent in 1997-98 to 41.3 per cent in 2013-14 (ibid).



The reconviction rate for criminal damage increased from 28.8 per cent in 1997-98 to 31.3 per cent in 2013-14 (ibid).



A longer-term study found that 22.2 per cent of offenders convicted of a violent crime in 2013-14 went on to reoffend within one year, compared to 22.9 per cent in the 1999-2000 cohort (Reducing reoffending in Scotland, November 2012)



10.3 per cent of offenders convicted of a sexual crime in 2013-14 went on to reoffend within one year, compared to 9.7 per cent in the 1999-2000 cohort (ibid).

Many reoffending projects are funded by local authorities – who are uncertain over their funding, and unclear over their role •

Sacro, a community justice organisation that works across Scotland, faces challenging times. Chairman Sandy Cameron said, “Although our sector is often among the hardest hit in periods of austerity, the current stress on government and local authority budgets seems particularly relentless and shows little sign of abating anytime soon” (Sacro strategic plan 2015-2020).



Apex, an organisation that aims to reduce reoffending and promote desistance, said earlier this year that “now some well established initiatives are having to close or reduce because Councils are not funded to deal with helping offenders or those at risk of offending. There is a danger that by moving away from local authorities and partners like Apex, Government policy might end up turning its back on communities. It is here where victims live and perpetrators must return, and if sizable parts of that equation - local communities - are disengaged then the opportunity to embed rehabilitation will be lost to an institutional response that cannot provide the same ethos” (Apex, 2016).

Reoffending is extremely expensive •

Reoffending costs £3billion a year. Alongside the human cost of reoffending, the fiscal cost is extensive as policing, courts and prisons services all face high costs (Scottish Government, accessed 19 September 2016).



Each prison place costs over £34,000 per prisoner, per year (Annual Report and Accounts, Scottish Prison Service, 2014-15, p.9).

Too few prisoners are in purposeful activity – and the Scottish Government changed the definition to make it easier for prisons to hit activity targets •

Research by the Scottish Conservatives revealed that 1,727 prisoners – roughly one in five of the prison population – were not engaged in ‘purposeful activity’, the term used to describe education, work training or skills development (Scottish Conservatives FOI study, March 2016).



For 7790 prisoners last year, there were only 4,137 works spaces and 1,829 purposeful activity places (ibid).

Our view •

Breaking the cycle of reoffending has to be the focus of justice policy – and rates remain too high.



We believe that skills development and employment should be at the centre of prison activity. In the first instance, we believe the Scottish Government should conduct a thorough review of rehabilitation schemes across the prison estate, before setting up workshops and other educational opportunities within prison walls, in cooperation with the voluntary and private sectors.



There are many innovative charities working in prisoner rehabilitation. We support their work, and believe they

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Social Justice in Scotland should work with offenders before, during and after their prison term to help with their rehabilitative journey. We think this could be done through the introduction of payment-by-results schemes, which would offer increasing payments to voluntary sector partners who succeed in curbing reoffending for their individual clients. •

Again, we think that clarity over funding for local authorities and charities is essential. We believe there would be mileage in exploring new funding mechanisms, such as social bonds, or accounting for savings further down the justice system in courts or prisons by investing in preventative services.

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Social Justice in Scotland MENTAL HEALTH



The current situation Mental health has been chronically underfunded – at a huge human cost •



Less than 0.5 per cent of the NHS Scotland budget is spent on child and adolescent mental health services. The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition has urged ‘the new Scottish Government and Mental Health Minister to act quickly and increase investment from the current figure of less than 0.5 per cent of the NHS budget. This will ensure that those requiring it are given the support they need, so that those children and young people requiring these services do not miss out’ (CommonSpace, 7 September 2016).

Demand is rising – but services are patchy •

Scotland is falling behind other parts of the UK on mental health of mothers. An expert group of professionals has called for investment to tackle ‘fragmented and inadequate’ levels of support, describing help available as a ‘postcode lottery’ as only five out of fourteen health boards have community perinatal mental health teams (The Scotsman, 13 September 2016).

Responses to the Scottish Government’s consultation on mental health reveal the numerous instances of people whose needs were not met by NHS services and demonstrates that ‘there are still too many people who are not getting the right help early enough’ (Herald, 11 September 2016).



The Edinburgh Crisis Centre has seen its workload quadruple in the past decade. Penumbra, the charity which runs the centre, provides the only service in Scotland which provides immediate face to face support and overnight stays. The rise in demand for this service paired with lengthy waiting times for NHS treatment suggested people are accessing crisis services, instead of lower acuity services earlier on (Third Force News, 12 September 2016).



Over 900 Scottish children called Childline contemplating suicide in 2015. The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition said Childline’s report is evidence of an ‘epidemic’ in mental health problems for children and young people and there is a ‘chronic shortage of support’(BBC News, 8 September 2016).

The Christie principle of prevention is hugely relevant to mental health •

According to the Scottish Alliance on Mental Health, on average, lifetime earnings of a victim of bullying are reduced by around £50,000 (SAMH submission to Scottish Government consultation on mental health strategy, 2016).



They also point out that schools-based programmes to prevent conduct disorder are proven to be costeffective. Social and emotional learning programmes are estimated to produce economic benefits of £48.30 for every £1 invested (ibid).

Charities are concerned that the Scottish Government’s new mental health strategy won’t make a difference •

The Scottish Alliance for Mental Health said its members have ‘serious concerns about the scope of the new vision, the level of consultation undertaken to date and its potential impact.’ Assistant Director Andrew Strong criticised the previous strategy and supports the Scottish Mental Health Partnership’s proposal for a high level commission on the future of mental health in Scotland. (Holyrood, 22 August 2016).



Campaign group 38 Degree ‘have had around 9,000 people expressing a deep level of concern that the Scottish Government needs to radically improve mental health services in Scotland. It's clear from the responses we've received that people want specific improvements.’ The survey was launched following concerns that the Scottish Government’s plan was vague and lacked firm commitments about increasing the level of support for people with mental health problems. (Herald, 4 September 2016).

There is a staffing crisis in mental health •

The number of mental health officer vacancies reached record high in 2015. A Scottish Social Services Council report found that in December 2015 there was the highest overall shortfall in whole-time equivalent (WTE) mental health officers since records began in 2008. 21 councils were facing a shortfall in mental health officer staffing levels, up from 14 in 2012. Around 40 extra WTE officers are required across Scotland to address this shortfall (Scottish Social Services Council, 29 August 2016).

Mental health waiting times are being missed •

NHS statistics from from 6 September 2016 showed that 81.2 per cent of people referred for treatment were seen within 18 weeks – the Scottish Government target is 90 per cent. Nine Health Boards are missing this target (ibid).

NHS statistics from September 2016 showed that 77.6 per cent of children and young people referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) were seen within 18 weeks – the Scottish Government target is 90 per cent. Seven Health Boards are missing this target. (ISD waiting times statistics, 6 September 2016).

Our view •

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We were proud that our 2016 election manifesto had

Social Justice in Scotland the strongest commitment on mental health of any party. •

Some of our calls, such as arguing for a 10-year plan, have now been adopted by the SNP.



This needs to be backed up with funding sufficient for transformation. We will continue to argue for an additional £300 million to be invested in improving mental health treatment over the next Parliament. This should be used to improve capacity and staffing across the health service.



The end goal should be parity of esteem between mental and physical health, with targeted funding and policy towards achieving a fundamental change in how we support those with mental health problems.



The ambition should be to provide dedicated mental health support in every GP surgery and every A&E department 24/7.



We would also like to see more counselling available in secondary schools - something where Scottish schools are lagging behind the rest of the UK - reducing the pressure on CAMHS services which pick up issues when they have already devolved into higher-acuity conditions.



Additional support should be directed to social prescribing - both in the development of innovative social prescribing networks and in the information available to GPs on services in their local area to which they can then refer patients.



We support the Frank's Law campaign and will continue to put pressure on the Scottish Government to increase support for dementia sufferers under 65.

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Social Justice in Scotland THE ATTAINMENT GAP

Our view

Current situation



We will support real devolution in schools. We will also support funding that follows the poorest pupils – and believe our role will be to hold the SNP to the promises they make, and ensure that reform is as far-reaching and urgent as required.



We think the SNP needs to think much more clearly about targeting and how their policies work in different parts of Scotland. If schools were autonomous, for example, they could organise themselves into clusters of schools in the same geographical area working collaboratively together - but without accompanying formal bureaucratic structures of regional management, which seems to be the approach the SNP is taking.



As the debate on structure continues, the SNP cannot neglect the need for good teachers. We believe that support for the best high-achieving graduates who are interested in becoming teachers via the postgraduate route, especially in STEM subjects, could be improved by introducing a postgraduate teaching bursary, which would be retention-linked to Scottish state schools.



We support the introduction of a TeachFirst scheme that would place some of the brightest graduates into our most challenging schools. We also believe in the need to pursue greater GTCS flexibility on this issue, including the ability to recruit fully accredited teachers from outside Scotland should this need arise.



We need to focus on attracting the best teachers to improve numeracy and literacy rates, with an ambitious target for the next two Parliaments - we want every child to read well by age 11.



We suggested a First Minister's Reading Challenge in January 2016, and are pleased the Scottish Government has decided to take it forward. Best practice sharing as well as more focused training in numeracy and literacy teaching would make a big difference.

The attainment gap has widened during the SNP’s nine years in power. •

Children from less deprived backgrounds are seven times more likely to achieve ‘3A’ Higher passes than those from deprived backgrounds (Scottish Conservatives, 2015).



29 per cent of schools in the most deprived areas are rated ‘weak’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. This compares to 10 per cent average across whole of Scotland. Moreover, an Education Scotland report into school inspections generally between 2008 and 2011 found only 69 per cent were rated “good” or better – meaning one third of schools are not even rated as “good”. (Sosu, E. & Ellis, S. 2014. Closing the Attainment Gap in Scottish Education)



One in ten children from deprived backgrounds go to university in Scotland, compared to 1 in 5 in England (Sosu, E. & Ellis, S. 2014. Closing the Attainment Gap in Scottish Education)



At a university level, only 8.4 per cent of the student population at Scotland’s ancient universities are from the 20 per cent most deprived backgrounds (Scottish Funding Council, 2014).

Headline promises on free university tuition hides trends elsewhere in higher and further education •

Since 2007, 152,000 college places have been cut (Scottish Government, 2016).



Per head of population, Scotland has around half the number of Modern Apprentices as England. England averages 500,000 MA starts a year, but Scotland is only reaching 25,000 (BIS, 2014)

Targeting of money for the poorest pupils is confused •

The SNP originally said that the Attainment Fund should go directly to schools in the seven most deprived local authority areas. However, only 40 per cent of pupils from deprived background go to school in a deprived area, meaning that deprived children who attend school in more affluent areas therefore miss out on the funding, and the problem of attainment will persist, for example in Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and East Renfrewshire (McCormick and Ellis, 2015).



At the time of writing, the Scottish Government is consulting on how to target the money, and we understand that they are likely to focus on a more targeted approach, linking funding to pupils.

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Social Justice in Scotland

Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party, 67 Northumberland Street, Edinbugh EH3 6JG. www.scottishconservatives.com