Deaths among children and young people living in care in Scotland rose by 38% last year, with almost one fatality every fortnight, according to new figures. The increase has prompted campaigners and charities to warn that young people in care are being failed.
A study from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) recorded 22 deaths of looked-after youngsters in 2025, up from 16 the previous year. The figures cover children and under-25s in foster care or residential children’s homes. Suicide and drugs are believed to be the main drivers of the rise, although government agencies refused to disclose the causes of death for 2025 without explanation, alarming charities and campaigners.
Government Accused of Suppressing Information
Scottish Lib Dem children and young people’s spokesman Duncan Dunlop, a youth worker for decades, said: “To anyone who has worked with young people in care these shockingly high numbers of deaths will depressing but not unexpected.” He added: “Despite report after report showing just how broken things are, the government still refuses to acknowledge that the situation is nowhere near good enough.”
Dunlop, who was chief executive of the charity Who Cares? Scotland for nine years and played a key role in securing The Promise from ministers, said: “There is no excuse for holding back causes of death. These are children of the state and ministers should face up to what is happening on their watch.”
The Promise and Its Critics
The Promise, unveiled by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2020, was a ten-year pledge to transform the lives of care-experienced children and young people. However, there has been repeated criticism of the failure to deliver tangible results, with many believing things have gotten worse rather than better. In 2024, the Sunday Mail revealed The Promise was paying “independent strategic advisor” Fiona Duncan £700 a day. The organisation receives almost £3million of public cash a year but has been criticised for achieving little while spending millions on plush offices, PR consultants and a slick website.
Dunlop added: “Unless something dramatic changes, The Promise will not be kept by its 2030 deadline. There is no leadership, no real plan of action and no clear metric to measure success. The consequences of that are horrendous for the children left to suffer in the broken care system. Not only should we be tracking the number of deaths of kids in care, we should be tracking the number of care-experienced people who die prematurely across their whole lives.”
Data Gaps and Calls for Transparency
The SCCJR report, published this month, said that between 2021 and 2024, 73% of deaths of young people in care aged 15 or over were from suicide or drugs. However, it warned of “declining transparency” in the figures, noting: “Data obtained for 2025 withheld information that had been provided in previous years including cause of death, gender and local authority.” The report also found 98 incidents of self-harm in kids’ care settings last year, but said the data was only provided by two of four providers.
Nicola Killean, Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner, said she was “deeply concerned” by the findings. She said: “Nothing can bring a child back to their loved ones. However, the Scottish Government has a duty to fully and properly investigate each child’s case. This is an essential part of addressing preventable deaths. It is essential to be sensitive to surviving family members, but the cause of death is also a crucial factor to be considered in any review.”
Linda Jardine of Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity, added: “The reported rise in deaths of care experienced children and young people is deeply disturbing and demands urgent attention. Transparent information about how these children and young people have died must be made available so that action can be taken to help prevent future tragedies.”
Political Reactions and Wider Context
Scottish Labour’s Katherine Sangster said: “Nicola Sturgeon’s Promise was to transform the care system by the end of this decade. With deaths rising and vital information about causes of death missing, serious questions must be answered about whether that promise is being delivered. Politicians keep saying we must keep the Promise - for these families it has been broken.” Scottish Tory Meghan Gallacher added: “These shocking figures are a damning indictment of an SNP government that has repeatedly failed Scotland’s most vulnerable children. The fact that causes of death are now being withheld makes this scandal even more disturbing. Families deserve answers, not a wall of silence from the very authorities responsible for protecting these children.”
The SCCJR annual report also found a 140% jump in the number of Scots dying after contact with the police. Across all settings of state custody or care for adults and children, including prison, police custody, mental health detention, immigration detention, asylum accommodation and care, a total of 261 people died last year - five deaths every week. Professor Sarah Armstrong of Glasgow University, who led the study, said: “It is appalling to think that every week, five people in this country are dying while in the care of the state and for most of them, we know very little about who they are, the facts surrounding their deaths or whether lessons have been learned.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Every death in custody or of a care-experienced person is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families, friends and staff who are affected. Keeping people safe is a top priority. This year we introduced a law requiring ministers to report annually on the deaths of looked after children, to help us learn from each case and reduce the risk of premature death. We are also delivering The Promise to improve the lives of care experienced people, passed landmark legislation, made significant investment in whole family support and strengthened support for foster and kinship carers.”
