Parliament launches investigation into care process

The Scottish Parliament's Education and Culture Committee is to conduct an examination of the decisions made about when or if a child should be removed from the family home.

The remit for the committee’s new inquiry is to understand:

• the decision-making processes involved in determining whether a child should be removed from the family home and taken into care;
• whether these decision-making processes are delivering the best outcomes for children and their families.

During its previous inquiry into the educational attainment of looked after children the committee found that while 56% of school leavers gained five or more qualifications, only 4.7% of children looked after away from home and 0.5% of children looked after at home achieved the same results.

Following on from this inquiry, the committee will examine in detail whether the decisions currently made on care are delivering the best possible future for some of Scotland's most vulnerable children.