Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act 2026
Part 1Children’s care system
Chapter 1Support etc. for persons in or with experience of children’s care system
Aftercare
1Aftercare
2Assessment of needs
3Types of assistance
4Other duties
5Financial assistance towards expenses of education or training etc.
6Co-operation between authorities
7Consequential modifications of enactments
Advocacy services for care-experienced persons
8Advocacy services for care-experienced persons
9Independence of care experience advocacy services
Duties in relation to care experience
10Duties of public authorities etc. in relation to care experience
11Regulations under section 10: further provision
Review of permanence
12Review of permanence
Interpretation
13Interpretation
Chapter 2Support etc. for persons in or with experience of children’s care system: modification of enactments
Family group decision-making
14Right to request family group decision-making services
15Promotion of family group decision-making services
16Guidance on family group decision-making services
Kinship care assistance
17Kinship care needs assessment
18Guidance in relation to kinship care assistance functions
19Kinship care assistance: power to require information-sharing by local authority
Provision of accommodation
20Duty to provide accommodation for children in need
21Provision of accommodation for care-experienced persons
Continuing care
22Continuing care: persons eligible and accommodation to be provided
23Power to continue provision of continuing care up to person’s 26th birthday
24Return to continuing care
Corporate parenting
25Corporate parenting: application to persons looked after before age 16 and planning
26Guidance on corporate parenting
Chapter 3Provision of children’s care services
Requirements on certain care providers
27Children’s residential care services: profit limitation
28Fostering services to be charities
29Services taking cross-border placements
Register of foster carers
30Register of foster carers
31Register of foster carers: further provision
32Disclosure of information
33Establishment and maintenance of register by person other than Scottish Ministers
34Pilot scheme
35Register of foster carers: interpretation
Allowances and other payments
36Allowances and other payments
37Uprating of allowances
Guidance on use of restraint and seclusion in relevant care services
38Guidance on use of restraint and seclusion in relevant care services
Report on deaths of care-experienced persons
39Report on deaths of care-experienced persons
Chapter 4Support for adoption
40Peer support services
Chapter 5Children’s hearings
Composition etc. of Children’s Panel, children’s hearings and pre-hearing panels
41Single member children’s hearings and pre-hearing panels
42Remuneration of Children’s Panel members
Child’s attendance at children’s hearings and hearings before sheriff
43Child’s attendance at children’s hearings and hearings before sheriff
Grounds hearings
44Role of Principal Reporter and grounds hearing
Relevant persons
45Powers to exclude persons from children’s hearing
46Relevant person’s right to require review of compulsory supervision order
47Removal of relevant person status
Timescales
48Timescale for determination of application to sheriff
49Reports on timescales in children’s hearing system
Other changes
50Tests for referral to Principal Reporter and making of compulsory supervision order or interim compulsory supervision order
51Information about referral, availability of children’s advocacy services etc.
52Children’s advocacy services: non-instructed advocacy
53Children’s advocacy services: notification of hearings
54Period for which interim compulsory supervision order or interim variation of compulsory supervision order has effect
55Making of further interim compulsory supervision orders
56Principal Reporter’s power to initiate review of compulsory supervision order
57Family group decision-making: information to be provided to Principal Reporter
Children’s legal aid
58Children’s legal aid
Chapter 6Place of safety for children who have been arrested
59Power to require that arrested children be taken to a place other than a police station, etc.
Part 2Children’s services planning
60Lead children’s services planning bodies
61Aims of children’s services planning
62Children’s services plans: process and review
63Reporting on children’s services plans
Part 3Reports and reviews
64Report on family group decision-making services
65Review of the Act
66Report on fulfilment of the Promise
Part 4Final provisions
67Ancillary provision
68Regulation-making powers
69Meaning of “child”
70Commencement
71Short title

Royal arms

Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act 2026

2026 asp 16

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision for and about the provision of services and support for or in relation to children and other persons with care experience; to make provision for a register of foster carers; to make provision about children’s hearings; to make provision in relation to the planning of children’s services; and for connected purposes.