Skip to main content

Route map: Money and commissioning

This route map was last updated in December 2025 with all information that is known about work underway and still required. It is not yet fully populated and work continues to identify what still needs to happen. Route maps are shared planning tools to support delivery of the promise and as progress is made and the rest of the route becomes clearer, this route map will continue to be updated. 

Where is Scotland now?

Financial transparency and regulatory scrutiny must be strengthened to ensure surplus is reinvested, alongside measures including clarifying key terms such as “profit-making” and “surplus.” Next steps focus on refining regulatory and legislative frameworks to apply these principles consistently and address remaining financial incentives that conflict with relational, care-based outcomes. Sustained collaboration is essential to create a system that prioritises children’s rights, experiences and needs over profit. Milestones for 2026 and beyond depend on passage of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill, including amendments, and decisions the new Scottish Government and Parliament after the May 2026 elections.

Read More...

Money and commissioning

Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

All of the promise's calls to action have been grouped into delivery-focused outcomes that make clear what Scotland must deliver to keep the promise. The route map then identifies who must take responsibility for action by when for each outcome. This means the outcomes are fully aligned to what children, young people, and care experienced adults said must happen and the actions required are in a format that supports delivery, accountability, and monitoring. 

The outcomes in Money and Commissioning are: 

  • Scotland’s care system does not allow profit or marketisation. Regulatory scrutiny ensures any surplus funds are directed back into the care and support of children and young people. Profit-based targets and incentives have been removed across all services.
  • Local and national strategic planning aligns budgets and investment decisions around the needs of children and their families. Challenges in sustaining care are addressed through pooled budgets and coordinated approaches resulting in sufficient provision that meets children’s and families’ needs safely and locally.
  • Systematic disinvestment from acute and crisis services has made resources available to support prevention and early help and support. Services that no longer meet need are refined or phased out, ensuring sustainable investment in what works.
  • Commissioning is guided by principles of relational working, trust-based partnerships, and shared accountability, not cost-and-volume contracting. Longer-term funding arrangements promote stability and impact.
  • The views of children, young people, and families are central to service design, commissioning and evaluation, ensuring decisions reflect their rights, needs, and relationships.

 

 

Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

The route map to get there

Provisions relating to financial transparency and profit contained in Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill.

The Scottish Government published analysis on the consultation into financial transparency and profit limitation in children's residential care in December 2025.

Definition of 'profit making' and 'surplus' developed and agreed, built on and inclusive of consultation findings.

Use definition to map profit-making across care landscape and audit profit and financial targets using agreed definitions.

Develop guidance to support application of definitions and parameters.

Consider and develop regulatory proposals to restrict profit. 

Assess and implement required regulatory/legislative frame for prohibiting profit in the care system as per agreed definitions.

Develop and roll out a transition plan for affected providers.

Establish monitoring framework in line with existing scrutiny frameworks.

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.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, Local Authorities, COSLA, Care Inspectorate, Scotland Excel, Providers

Other route maps this links to:

Governance

Scrutiny and inspection

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Secure care consultation coming out December 2025, which will include specific questions about the secure care operating model.

Identify gaps and integrate prevention analysis into strategic planning frameworks and sufficiency audits.

Align local planning guidance with national prevention definitions.

National framework for needs assessment and monitoring agreed.

Assess local authority sustainability gaps.

Develop and publish strategic guidance.

LAs conduct audits of plans in place and incorporate into planning processes.

Develop joint planning reviews.

Analysis of secure care consultation published then COSLA and Scottish Government will produce a joint action plan which will operationalise changes to the secure care estate.

Local strategic plans adapted and implemented and learning shared.

Consider ways to address sustainability gaps in funding.

Use prevention spend data and information on local need to inform regional and national planning adjustments.

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.

Who needs to work on this:

Local Authorities, Scottish Government, COSLA

Other route maps this links to:

Governance

Where children live

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Scottish Government Prevention Project – developing shared definitions of prevention, methods for identifying and tracking preventative spend, and analytical tools for mapping drivers of preventable demand.

Public Service Reform Strategy and Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan – commitments to embed prevention and long-term financial sustainability in budget processes.

Public Sector Reform Strategy Governance – oversight of prevention framing and measurement, testing definitions and guidance.

Adopt Prevention Project guidance and toolkit.

Develop preventative spend tagging in local and national budgets.

Publish children’s services prevention spend analysis linked to Public Service Reform strategy reporting.

Independent Strategic Advisor develops investment/disinvestment toolkit and data model.

Scottish Government and COSLA to develop and agree national investment/disinvestment principles;

Develop national disinvestment strategy for crisis services;

Pilot reinvestment in early help and support programmes including pooled budgets

Build on preventative spend seminars, faciliated by Public Health Scotland

Integrate prevention spend tracking into annual local and national budget cycles.

Embed avoided-cost and driver-of-demand analysis (from Prevention toolkit) into commissioning reviews.

Run pilots including phased disinvestment; disinvestment toolkit and data model developed for scale.

Evaluate pilots and publish outcomes.

Begin phased disinvestment from acute services closely aligned to monitoring need and impact.

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.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, COSLA, Local Authorities

Other route maps this links to:

Governance

Intensive family support

Universal family support

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click 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.

Scottish Government and COSLA to develop and agree joint approach.

Local Authorities shift contracts to multi-year models supported by central budget shifts.

Incorporate prevention principles into commissioning framework.

Use Prevention Project budget guidance to support multi-year funding aligned to prevention outcomes.

Collaboratively develop relational commissioning models in pilot areas.

Consider expanding long-term funding across all Children's Services Planning Partnerships.

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.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, COSLA, Local Authorities, Scotland Excel, Providers

Other route maps this links to:

Workforce support

Recruitment and retention

Rules, processes and culture

Governance

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click 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.

Develop participation toolkit for commissioning and train procurement staff.

Review commissioning frameworks for sibling support. 

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.

Who needs to work on this:

Local Authorities, COSLA, Care Inspectorate

Other route maps this links to:

Listening

Participation and engagement

Governance

Relationships

Scrutiny and inspection

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

What matters to children, families, and care experienced adults

Money is spent in a way that means I can have support that fits around what my family and I want and need at that moment in time, rather than our needs having to fit around for what is already on offer across different services and organisations.

Find out more about what matters here

Foundations