Scottish Children In Care To Get £7m windfall

Looked-after children in Scotland are set to benefit from a £7m windfall from the Scottish Executive. The extra funding was announced by deputy education minister Robert Brown at a conference on children in care this week. Foster carers and kinship carers will be able to apply for £2m to help buy essentials like bunk beds, a washing machine or additional bedroom furniture.

The remaining £5m will be allocated to residential units and schools across the country to improve the decor and provide facilities that encourage learning.

Bryan Ritchie, director of the Fostering Network Scotland, described the move as a “first step” but said foster care was “rising up the Scottish Executive’s agenda.”