his week, Craig is joined by Marion Macleod – an expert in social care and education for children and author of Common Weal’s latest policy paper on a strategic plan for childcare. They discuss the current patchwork state of child and early years care in Scotland, how the latest Programme for Government perpetuates that even if the policies themselves may be valuable and how things could be greatly improved by a strategic and holistic plan for care sitting within a National Care Service.

The Promise is the key driver of the Scottish Government’s policy in relation to family support and out-of-home care for children. It is largely based on information drawn from the views and opinions of people who have experience of care – but research data and other empirical evidence has being given lesser prominence in creating policies.

This has led to an emphasis on responding to whichever issues arise from those expressing views rather than developing strategies based on the overall political, economic and social context in which problems arise.