Public performance reports

Local councils have a duty under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to assess a person's community care needs and decide whether to arrange any services. Any assistance should be based on an assessment of the person's care needs and should take into account their preferences.

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 is new legislation that makes changes to the law in relation to the children’s hearing system, the care of children and the involvement of children in the criminal justice system, including courts that hear cases relating to children and the places where children can be detained. The Bill was passed on 25 April 2024 and commenced on 4 June 2024.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 outlines the legislative framework for Scotland's child protection system. It covers parental responsibilities and rights, and the duties and powers local public authorities have for supporting and promoting the safety and welfare of children.

The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 implemented 1 April 2014 places a duty on local authority social work departments to offer people who are eligible for social care a range of choices over how they receive their support. The needs of the majority of children and young people in South Lanarkshire will be met by their families, community, and universal services of health and education. However, there will be times when some children will need additional support to reach their potential and achieve good outcomes. A Self-directed Support co-produced assessment may be required to assess the level of need and risk for the child or young person and to begin to consider their identified outcomes. This assessment may result in the provision of some funded support.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 facilitated a shift in public services towards early years and early intervention. It is underpinned by the UNCRC and the national approach of GIRFEC (Getting it right for every child). It also established a framework for services to work together in their support of children, young people and families.

The Carers Scotland Act 2016. Implemented in April 2018 to ensure better support to carers and young carers so that they can continue to care, if they so wish, in better health and have a life alongside caring, making caring more sustainable.

UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. gained Royal Assent in January 2024, with full powers implemented by July 2024.  The legislation ensures the Articles identified in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child are now part of Scots Law. Public authorities to act in a way that is compatible with UNCRC requirements and report on their compliance with UNCRC. If the rights of children and young people are breached, they have the power to go to court. A consequence of this is that the Children's Commissioner can take legal action.

Children and families social work services work to provide family support to promote the welfare and development of children, young people, and their families. They also provide support and care for children, young people, and their families so that, wherever possible, young people can remain with their own families in their own communities. Social Work Resources also have a duty to protect children. Whilst this is a shared responsibility with other agencies and the community, Social Work has a particular responsibility to investigate allegations of child abuse in the framework of jointly agreed child protection procedures.

Percentage of reports submitted to Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) within timescales (%)

Target 75%

What this means
This indicator measures the council’s performance in relation to timescales for submitting reports to SCRA.

Why this matters
Children and young people are referred to the Reporter where some aspect of their life is giving cause for concern, such as care and protection or in relation to an offence. The Reporter may ask Social Work to complete a report about a child or young person to help determine the most suitable intervention that will ensure their protection and support their welfare and wellbeing. Timely completion of the report prior to a Children’s Hearing will support panel members make the right decision for the child or young person.

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
To date, 72% (214 out of 298) of reports submitted to the Children's Reporter were sent within agreed timescales. Reporting in early 2024/25 highlighted a performance issue against this measure and action was taken by the service to increase local monitoring and establish regular meetings with the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. Whilst the year-to-date position has not met the 75% annual target, improvement actions appear to be making an impact and performance has continued to improve.

Percentage of children seen within 15 days following Compulsory Supervision Order commencing (%)

Target 75%

What this means

This indicator measures the council’s performance in relation to timescales for children to be seen by a social worker following commencement of a Compulsory Supervision.

Why this matters
Where a Compulsory Supervision Order has been put in place by a Children’s Hearing, the local authority has a duty to put the order into effect. A Social Worker should visit the child or young person within 15 days to discuss a plan for the future to protect and support the wellbeing and welfare of the child or young person.

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
To date, 85% of children were seen by a supervising officer within 15 days of CSO being made at a hearing, performance continues to exceed the annual target of 75%.

The Care Inspectorate is the independent scrutiny and improvement body for care services in Scotland. They make sure people receive high quality care and ensure that services promote and protect their rights. All our care services are registered and inspected by the Care Inspectorate and you can view the individual reports on South Lanarkshire Council services on their website.

Residential Care

Our staff deliver high-quality care to children and young people within our own children's houses. The table below shows Care Inspectorate grades for registered children's houses.

Grades Guide:  1. Unsatisfactory  2. Weak  3. Adequate 4. Good  5. Very Good  6. Excellent

Adoption 

Our adoption service continues to experience a high level of interest and aims to find prospective adopters for children with a wide range of needs, older children and groups of siblings. 

Fostering

Our foster carers demonstrate resilience and positivity to provide nurturing and stable care for children and young people, who thrive in their care. We continue to recruit local carers to meet the need for family-based care.

Supported Care

Our Supported Care service supports young people aged 16 – 21 who are transitioning to independent living. This might be young people who have been in residential care, or young people seeking asylum who are unaccompanied. We continue to need more Supported Carers to provide invaluable support to young people in their journey towards independence.

The gradings from inspections for each of these services can be found below.

Grades Guide: 1. Unsatisfactory 2. Weak 3. Adequate 4. Good 5. Very Good 6. Excellent

The Children’s Services Partnership hosted four Locality Events during autumn 2025 centred on the theme of ‘Whole Family Focus’. Over 200 corporate parents and partners attended the events in East Kilbride, Hamilton, Lanark and Rutherglen. They heard about new initiatives – such as the Marmot Place initiative – and about good practice from colleagues working with children, young people and families; and, importantly, they participated in discussions throughout the morning designed to help establish the priorities of the next Children’s Services Plan.

Care Day 2026 this year was on Thursday, 19 February, the Children’s Services Partnership proudly hosted its fourth annual Care Day celebrations. The event brought together corporate parents from the council, NHS, and third sector, alongside children and young people from 16 secondary schools, as well as parents and carers. Care Day 2026 was a memorable day with powerful examples of South Lanarkshire’s Promise to the care experienced community designed to encourage reflection, learning and enthusiasm to continue our commitment to get The Promise right.  The event showcased the impact of listening to lived experience and placing children and young people at the heart of planning for change. A number of young people were visible through the medium of video, showing and articulating the impact that corporate parents can have when we get the support to care experienced people right. This included our Employability Promise and the Care to Move initiative in partnership with Leisure and Culture. Plans are already in motion for Care Day 2027.

The government invests £200 to open a Junior ISA for each eligible child in the UK who has been in care for at least one year and does not have a Child Trust Fund. The Share Foundation is a registered charity and manages these accounts. It also raises additional funds and runs education programmes, such as Stepladder Plus (part-funded by the Scottish government), that provide care-experienced young people with opportunities to earn money for their account while they learn. Local authorities work alongside the Share Foundation to ensure all eligible children and young people are included. South Lanarkshire Council has supported 368 children to acquire Junior ISAs and another 18 young people to participate in Stepladder Plus (which has earned an additional £18,400 between them).

Children and Family Services have created additional opportunities for those who come into contact with our services to tell us about their personal experiences of our services via the Care Opinion website. The Comments and stories told by those who use our services will be carefully monitored and considered and any changes to our service delivery will be implemented and action taken accordingly in order to ensure we are responsive to the needs of individuals who use our services.

Follow the links to our website for further information about children and families services and how to access them:

Adoption, Fostering, Short Breaks, and Supported Care

ARCH - Autism Resources Co-ordination Hub

Family Support Hubs

Child Protection

Corporate Parenting, Care Experienced Young People and Continuing care and aftercare

Kinship Care

Trauma Recovery Service

Young carers service

Also available to download are copies of our Children's Services Plan and Annual Report, Corporate Parenting Strategy, and Autism Action Plan.

Resource Plans are prepared each year by all Council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. There are several factors that present specific challenges to Social Work Resources in relation to the demand for key service provision. 

In the coming year, Social Work Resources will take forward all necessary actions, where reasonable and appropriate, to mitigate or reduce the Resource's exposure to these risks. More information on performance and actions relating to Children and Families Social Work can be found in the Social Work Resource Plan and the Chief Social Work Officer Report.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to Resource committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Priorities are prepared - see Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 performance reports for further information.

More information on outcomes can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2026).