I am pleased and privileged to introduce ILF Scotland’s Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-2024. The plan outlines six core commitments, with a seventh, which gives an undertaking to review our plan. We believe that these will drive genuine change within our organisation and will support care experienced young people, enhance their wellbeing and remove barriers that could prevent them from achieving their personal goals.
ILF Scotland has a safeguarding role through our work with young people in our Transition Fund. The Transition Fund provides money, for up to one year, to support young people aged 16 to 25 living with disabilities or impairments. The Transition Fund aims to help these young people transitioning from school or children’s services to be more independent and to continue spending time with other people. We estimate that around seven per cent of young people applying for the Transition Fund are care experienced. As a public body of the Scottish Government, we are committed to supporting Scottish Ministers in their role as corporate parents. We continue to develop our services and the way in which we deliver them, to contribute to improving the life chances of care experienced young people.
This is our first corporate parenting plan. It comes at a time when we are undergoing a period of significant transformational change. We have recently published our new three-year Strategy ‘Hope & Ambition’, we are embarking on the development of a new IT system, and systematically reviewing all of our policies and the way in which we deliver our services to our customers. We welcome the unique opportunity to improve the lives of young people by delivering this plan. To do this effectively, we will engage actively with care experienced young people and work collaboratively with other organisations.
This partnership work will be at the heart of our approach, as the feedback we receive will help us shape and improve our services. We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders including care experienced young people. As we develop our plan, we aim to better target our resources towards care experienced young people who can potentially benefit from our funding to bring about transformational change.
Peter Scott, OBE
CEO, ILF Scotland
ILF Scotland, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, joined many other public bodies in Scotland to become a national Corporate Parent under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. Part 9 (Corporate Parenting) of this Act placed legal responsibilities on Scottish Ministers to promote the wellbeing of care experienced young people.
This Corporate Parenting Plan sets out how we will help to deliver Scottish Ministers’ statutory obligations as a Corporate Parent. We have taken a collaborative approach to developing our plan and have worked closely with partner agencies including the Centre for Excellence for Looked after Children In Scotland (CELCIS), The Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Scotland and Who Cares? Scotland. We have asked for feedback from care experienced young people via our contact with Social Work Teams in Health & Social Care Partnerships and have involved staff from key business areas within our organisation. Our Board has contributed to the plan and fully endorses it.
ILF Scotland is a Non Departmental Public Body and a Company Limited by Guarantee, governed by a Board of Directors, appointed by and accountable to Scottish Ministers.
ILF Scotland operates two funds. Following the closure of ILF UK in 2015, the Scottish Government established a new organisation, ILF Scotland, to administer funding to Scottish recipients of the ILF UK fund, which became known as the 2015 Fund. Through agreement with both Governments, ILF Scotland also administers the 2015 Fund on behalf of recipients in Northern Ireland.
The 2015 Fund provides financial awards to over 3,000 people in Scotland and Northern Ireland to help them pay for support to live independently at home, in their communities.
In 2017, working with disabled young people, ILF Scotland opened the Transition Fund for 16 to 21 year-olds, which has supported young people to become more active and to participate in their communities. Scottish Government extended the age range to 25 years in November 2019 so that more young people might benefit from the opportunity the Fund offers but also to align with the age range associated with looked after and care experienced young people.
All services that work with children and adults are responsible for promoting, supporting and safeguarding the wellbeing of all children and adults at risk of harm and for ensuring that members of the public know who to contact if they are concerned about a child or adult at risk of harm.
ILF Scotland considers that all staff have a duty to report concerns of harm. Our policy is that if any ILF Scotland staff member becomes aware of potential or actual harm, they will act with or without the consent of the ILF Scotland applicant/recipient or of the person affected by providing information in the form of a referral to the relevant Local Authority and in line with the policy of that Local Authority. This will normally involve using an agreed referral form or by telephone.
Where possible, an ILF Scotland member of staff should discuss any concerns of harm with their line manager or a member of the management team.
If ILF Scotland receives a report of harm, it will record this and follow up appropriately to ensure ILF Scotland recipients’ safety and to protect ILF Scotland funds.
ILF Scotland exists to support independent living for disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Independent living means, “Disabled people have the same freedom, choice, dignity and control as other people at home, at work, and in the community. It does not mean living by yourself or looking after yourself on your own. It means the person has rights to practical assistance and support to participate in society and live an ordinary life.” (Independent Living in Scotland project, 2008). ILF Scotland aims to enable disabled people to live independent lives, and to exercise choice and control over how each recipient of the fund achieves their own independent living outcomes. We aim to adopt a human rights approach to all that we do. In particular, we seek to ensure our actions support the realisation of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - “living independently and being included in the community”.
ILF Scotland has developed its own vision, mission and values, which we use to inform our business priorities and draw on to influence the approach we take as we try to achieve our goals. These values, in particular, will influence how we achieve the aims detailed in our Corporate Parent Plan.
All disabled people, and those with a long-term health condition, can access what they need to lead an
independent life.
To support disabled people, empowering them to lead their fullest lives.
The core principle of ILF Scotland is that disabled people have the same rights, freedoms and abilities to lead the fullest lives they can, free from discrimination and on an equal basis with others.
Our organisation has already started a programme of transformation, which involves a review of the systems and processes we use to deliver our services. We want to provide services that are easy for our customers to access and use and that can adapt to changes in policy and recipient needs.
Our Delivery Plan 2020-23 sets out how we will deliver our key business objectives:
Facilitate disabled people’s right to Independent Living
Be leaders in enabling Independent Living
Operate high-quality and efficient services
The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 came into effect on 1 April 2015. The legislation is a key part of the Scottish Government’s strategy for making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up. The Act established a new legal framework within which public services are to work together in support of children, young people and families in Scotland.
The Statutory Guidance on Corporate Parenting defines it as:
“An organisation’s performance of actions necessary to uphold the rights and safeguard the wellbeing of a looked after child or care leaver, and through which physical, emotional, spiritual, social and educational development is promoted.” (Scottish Government, 2015)
The legislation names Scottish Ministers as the Corporate Parent. ILF Scotland is not a Corporate Parent in its own right but as a public body, we should contribute to the success of the Scottish Government’s Corporate Parenting role. Our key function is to empower disabled people to live independently by providing support through our Funds.
In relation to the Transition Fund, we commit to try to improve our understanding corporately of care experienced young peoples’ needs so that we might better target our service to them as well as provide them with the best advice and assistance we can. We will do this by working with other Corporate Parents, relevant organisations and care experienced young people to identify how we can improve our plan, services and processes.
We will review our commitments to care experienced individuals and the corresponding actions and timescales in our annual review of our Corporate Parenting Plan and will provide an update to our Board, which we will publish on our website.
If you would like more information on our organisation or our Corporate Parenting role or Plan, please
contact us by email: enquiries@ILF.scot or by phone: 0300 200 2022 or in writing at the address below:
ILF Scotland, Ground Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way,
Livingston, EH54 6GA
Updated following our annual review of progress against our Corporate Parenting Actions at July 2023
Corporate Parenting responsibilities: alert, assess, promote, opportunities, access and improve
Action: We will develop new and existing relationships with other Corporate Parents, making them aware that we are a Corporate Parent.
Target date: March 2023
Outcome: We have established a working network with other Corporate Parent organisations and will have made direct contact with a third of all LA SW Departments by the end of 2023.
Progress: ILF Scotland is now part of the ‘Who Cares?’ Scotland’s Corporate parenting network with all other corporate parents including COSLA.
Update as of December 2023: ILF Scotland continues to be part of “Who Cares” Scotland Collaborative Corporate Parenting Network, which meets quarterly.
Action: We will continue to work closely with relevant organisations and stakeholders to inform our policy and practice.
Target date: March 2023
Outcome: We are alert to matters that might affect care experienced young people through our ongoing liaison work.
Progress: We have a strong relationship with ‘Who Cares?’ Scotland, universities/colleges and social work services and have engaged specifically with CAMHS and mental welfare commission.
Update as of December 2023: We have communicated with key fostering agencies and STAF (Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum). We are open to working with other bodies to share CP plans & reviews.
Action: We will consider care experienced young people in all ILF Scotland Equality Impact Assessments.
Target date: March 2024
Outcome: Equality Impact Assessments are considered / implemented where appropriate for all TF changes that impact on care experienced young people.
Progress: Complete
Update as of December 2023: Complete and ongoing.
Action: We will gain an understanding of care experienced young people’s needs through engagement with them and through working with other organisations that support them.
Target date: March 2024
Outcome: We consider the needs of care experienced young people and tailor our approach to best meet those needs.
Progress: We continue to work closely with ‘Who Cares?’ Scotland and form part of their collaborative working group of corporate parents.
Update as of December 2023: We have observed that many care experienced young people are in most cases in receipt of help to complete their application but we provide additional support if required.
Action: We will develop awareness sessions for all staff members to outline the principles of corporate parenting, our responsibilities and the ILF Scotland action plan.
Target date: March 2023
Outcome: All staff have attended awareness and training sessions.
Progress: We delivered Managers training in Q4, 2021 to 2022. Further staff training was delivered by ‘Who Cares?’ Scotland between May and October 2022. This embedded knowledge needed to support care experienced young people through applications. Refresher training is planned for 2024 to 2025.
Update as of December 2023: Refresher training is planned for 2024 to 2025. “Who Cares” Scotland have delivered Trauma Informed training over three sessions to ILF Scotland Board, Senior Management Team and front facing staff.
Action: We will ensure all new staff have an understanding of corporate parenting by including it in our induction pack.
Target date: October 2021
Outcome: All new staff are aware of ILF Scotland's corporate parenting responsibilities.
Progress: Complete
Update as of December 2023: Complete and ongoing.
Action: We will develop a communications strategy to target care experienced young people, and ensure they are aware of the TF and what we can offer them.
Target date: July 2022
Outcome: Communications strategy targets young people directly who are care experienced where appropriate and through other organisations to raise awareness.
Progress: Complete. Corporate Parenting is now included in our Communications Strategy.
Update as of December 2023: Complete. Through our communications strategy we highlighted a young care experienced person, Eireann, who is a TF recipient, with her view of how she has benefited from the fund. Eireann is also Who Cares? Scotland’s youngest Trustee – read more about her at Who Cares? Scotland’s youngest trustee Eireann on Care Experienced Week 2023 | ILF Scotland
Action: We will invite care experienced young people to be part of the ILF Scotland Young Ambassadors group.
Target date: October 2022
Outcome: We promote inclusion and participation to care experienced young people by offering membership to the TF Young Ambassadors Group.
Progress: Complete and ongoing. We are looking to create a panel of Care experienced young people to join our Young Ambassadors Group. We plan to request to be included in the ARC Scotland event planned for February 2024.
Update as of December 2023: At present, there is not a care experienced young person in this group, although we do communicate with appropriate candidates and are hopeful that this group can be represented in the future.
Action: We consistently look for opportunities to make the application process easier for care experienced young people and at how they can be assisted to make successful applications.
Target date: March 2024
Outcome: We will amend the application form to explicitly ask young people to identify as care experienced by the end of Q1 2023 and will look for opportunities to change operational procedures to make applying to the fund easier for young people by the end of Q4 2023.
Progress: Complete and we continue to review the application process to continue to evolve the most accessible version possible.
Update as of December 2023: There has been an increase in the number of care experienced young people applying to the Transition Fund with this number being 13.6% to date this year. It is however optional on the application to note this, so the number could be higher in reality. There is evidence of some applications indicating the person is care experienced when they are not. We will explore the possibility of adding an explanation of the care experienced criteria on the application portal.
Action: We will fully support care experienced young people to successfully complete the application process.
Target date: March 2024
Outcome: We assist care experienced young people to access information about the Fund to help them to receive grants to assist their transition. We will support all care experienced young people who apply to complete their application from Q1 of 2022/23.
Progress: Ongoing through our engagement with mental health commission, local authorities, ARC Scotland, and ‘Who Cares?’ Scotland All ILF Scotland staff have been given training by ‘Who Cares?’ Scotland to ensure they are best placed to support young applicants.
Update as of December 2023: Complete and ongoing
Action: We will hold engagement events with care experienced young people and the organisations that support them to improve understanding of the Transition Fund.
Target date: March 2024
Outcome: We will target engagement specifically at care experienced young people.
Progress: Complete and ongoing
Update as of December 2023: Complete and ongoing.
Action: We will flag care experienced young people on our internal database to help monitor how many applications we receive from this group.
Target date: March 2023
Outcome: We monitor the number of applications we receive from care experienced young people and consistently build on these results.
Progress: By adding the flag on our system to gather information on care experienced applicants, we now monitor and report upon to inform out improvements in this area.
Update as of December 2023: To date in 2023 13.6% of applications received are from care experienced young people.
Action: We will work with other Corporate Parents and care experienced young people to identify how we can improve our plan, services and processes.
Target date: March 2024
Outcome: We seek regular opportunities to improve our plan, services and processes on an ongoing basis.
Progress: This work has been ongoing through the life cycle of this plan. We are committed to working with care experienced young people in the development of our new corporate parenting plan in 2024.
Update as of December 2023: We are aware that some care experienced young people may not realise that they can apply if they are receiving support for early life trauma and anxiety for example, rather than have a diagnosis of a disability. Full details of the eligibility criteria are available through all communication channels and at engagement events.
Action: We will review our plan annually and publish an update on our progress against our commitments.
Target date: March 2023
Outcome: We ensure that our plan continues to be responsive to the needs of care experienced young people.
Progress: Complete. We update and report on this plan annually.
Action: We will formally report on the progress of our plan every three years.
Target date: March 2024
Progress: Ongoing
Update as of December 2023: Ongoing
You can contact us by letter, phone or email:
ILF Scotland
Ground Floor, Denholm House,
Almondvale Business Park,
Almondvale Way,
Livingston,
EH54 6GA
Telephone: 0300 200 2022
Email: enquiries@ILF.scot
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