UNDER 18s will no longer be sent to young offender institutions, the Scottish Government has announced. 

Instead, the government will use "care-based alternatives."

Ministers said it was about “shifting the approach from one of punishment to one of love and support”.

The move to end the imprisonment of 16 and 17 years old, as well as a vow to reduce the use of restraint in residential or secure care, are among 80 measures outlined in the delivery plan for The Promise - the SNP administration’s plan to improve the lives of people in and around the care system in Scotland.

The Promise was based on an independent root-and-branch review of Scotland’s care system, which was commissioned after the First Minister was lobbied by people who had grown up in that system. 

The campaigners - part of Who Cares? Scotland - wanted the government to do something about the “intolerable and stubborn” outcomes that those who experience the care system face.

Nicola Sturgeon said the publication of the review in February 2020 was “one of the most important moments in my tenure as First Minister so far.”

It called for the system to “have love and nurture at its heart” and wherever possible, to allow families to stay together.

The Keeping The Promise Implementation Plan, published today, promises to introduce a national allowance for foster and kinship carers and provide a £200 grant each year for 16 to 25-year-olds with care experience.

It also plans to redesign the Children's Hearings System and the governance of the care system.

Minister for Children and Young People Clare Haughey said: “More than 5,500 people - half of them children and young people with experience of care - told the Independent Care Review that change is needed. This plan sets out, for the first time, over 80 actions that the Scottish Government will take to keep The Promise to deliver that change.

“These ambitious actions will help families to thrive so they can safely stay together. They will also support carers and families engaged with the care system, as well as care leavers and care experienced people in education and employment.

“Alongside The Promise Scotland, the care community, local government, and many others, we are building on work that is already under way to bring forward change as quickly as possible.”

Conservative MSP Megan Gallacher said her party supported the implementation plan, but noted that some in the care sector felt there had been a lack of progress during the pandemic.

Fiona McFarlane, head of oversight at The Promise Scotland, has previously described the lack of progress as “heartbreaking and shameful”.

Ms Gallacher said: “While MSPs across this chamber understand that Covid has impacted delivery across some areas, it is concerning to note that the overall progress has been criticized by organizations, charities, and those who have experienced the care system.”

Scottish Labour’s Martin Whitfield said meaningful targets were needed to measure the outcomes for young people in care.

He said: “The outcomes are currently, quite frankly, dreadful and things must change.

“And Scottish Labour believe that these targets across the board will help us identify where areas are falling behind, outcomes that need to be critically looked at.”

Earlier this month, Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons led calls for no-one under the age of 18 to be sent to jail.

Figures show that last year 120 under-18s were sent to prison in Scotland, with most being there on remand.

No-one under 16 is sent to prison and 16 and 17-year-olds are usually held separately in recognition of their vulnerability and care requirements.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben said the results of a survey of 16 and 17-year-olds at HMP YOI Polmont were “shocking”.

It found that 83 per cent had been strip-searched, and 42 per cent had been isolated for punishment and 27 per cent had been physically restrained.