Scottish councils have given up to £200m to private firms to provide residential care for children and young people, despite promising to move away from the practice four years ago.
Campaigners raised concerns about the “scale to which profit-making companies are benefiting financially from the care system” and opposition politicians called for more homes that offered quality care and value for money.
According to the independent care review’s final report – launched on 5 February 2020 and known as the Promise – there is “no place for profiting in how Scotland cares for its children”. Regulatory bodies must “scrutinise any presence of profit” and make sure funds are “properly directed to the care and support of children”, it added then.