Ensuring the governance and accountability landscape surrounding the promise is fit for purpose is dependent on a shared understanding of the work underway and required, and the outcomes that must be achieved. Plan 24-30, as Scotland's shared planning framework, begins to do this and provides the basis for conversations on the work required.
The 'Improving Care Experience: Delivering The Promise' report from the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General (October 2025) highlighted that complex governance arrangements mean collective responsibility and accountability is challenging. The Scottish Government, COSLA and The Promise Scotland are working together to respond to the report's recommendations.
The Scottish Government's Public Service Reform Strategy (June 2025) is underpinned by four foundations relevant to this route map:
- Leadership and Cultural Change
- Accountability and Incentives
- Empowering People, Places and Communities
- Ensuring the Right Delivery Landscape (includes a commitment to "remove, amalgamate or change the number of public bodies where doing so will increase efficiency, remove duplication and improve service delivery")
The Promise Scotland's resetting public services report sets out five principles that should be built into a reset of how Scotland’s public services are governed to keep the promise:
- Leadership to improve lives
- Leaders will state a conscious commitment to improve the lives of care experienced people
- How leaders will improve the lives of care experienced children and families will be built into their objectives
- Leaders will be held to account for their part in partnership working and their contribution to care experienced people’s lives
- Bespoke frontline services
- Services will give space to understand the unique lives of children, young people and their families and will protect long-term relationships
- Staff will be empowered to do what will improve lives.
- Sharpen accountability for outcomes
- Scottish Government and COSLA will agree an accountability framework for keeping the promise at a national level.
- Data will focus on outcomes
- The reporting burden on public bodies will be minimised.
- Public bodies and partnerships will be held to account for their collective contribution.
- Scrutiny bodies will prioritise what matters to children, young people and their families.
- There will be a more strategic approach to risk management.
- Focus money on prevention and link it to outcomes
- Simplifying public services and streamline scrutiny and inspection
The Scottish Government and COSLA, with support from The Promise Scotland, will review and identify opportunities to streamline the remit, status, and expected impact of governance groups, boards and forums linked to the promise.
The Scottish Government and COSLA, with support from The Promise Scotland, will agree collectively how to utilise the work carried out by The Promise Scotland on governance and accountability.
Bodies within Children's Services Planning Partnerships will utilise Plan 24–30 route maps to enable collective responsibility and accountability for The Promise, ensuring clarity of roles across all sectors.
The Promise Scotland, COSLA and the Scottish Government to discuss the work required to link this route map to the Public Service Reform Agenda.
There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.
There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.
There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.
There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.
