At least 16 children and young people have died of suicide or drug overdoses while in the care system since 2021, the youngest of whom took their own life at just 11 years old, The Ferret has found.
Their deaths – which have prompted “outrage” – were among 38 of young people in care reported to the Scottish Government by local authorities. The young people were aged between three months and 21 years old. They died between Jan 2021 and June 2024 while in foster placements, care homes, or government after-care programmes.
Eleven took their own lives, the leading cause of death in this group. Others who died by suicide were teenagers, with one just 15. Another six were under-18 at the time.
There were five drug related deaths. One 16-year-old was murdered and one nine-year died following a tragic accident on a swing, according to information released to The Ferret under freedom of information law.
The chair of Scotland independent care review claimed the preventable deaths of children and young people in care were “morally reprehensible” and Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People has also raised concerns. Both said lessons must be learned from past tragedies.
The Scottish Government said it was committed to keeping young people in care safe and claimed they were a focus of suicide prevention work.
In 2012 an inquiry found that a care home failed to protect vulnerable teenagers Niamh Lafferty and Georgia Rowe, who took their own lives by jumping into the River Clyde. Both girls had been placed in the Good Shepherd Centre for vulnerable young people in Bishopton, Renfrewshire after going through difficult life circumstances.
When that child or young person dies in Scotland’s ‘care system’, we should all be concerned.
Fiona Duncan, The Promise Scotland
In 2021,16-year-old William Lindsay took his own life in Polmont Young Offenders Institute, where he was placed on remand only because a place in a secure children’s home could not be found. Earlier this year a fatal accident inquiry found he had been taken off the prison’s suicide prevention programme just hours before he took his own life.
Scotland has a higher mortality rate for under 18s than any other western European country, with over 300 children and young people dying every year, around a quarter of which are judged to have been preventable.
But research has shown that children and young people in state care are up to five times more likely to die than those who grow-up cared for by their families.
According to Care Inspectorate reports 65 children and young people in care from April 2020 and March 2023. No detail about ages or cause of death from this data is publicly available. Figures and details released to The Ferret, which were lower for comparable years, were provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities.
In February 2020 the Scottish Government launched its flagship “Promise” to children and young people in care, stating that they should grow up loved, safe, respected and able to meet their full potential.
The government acknowledged that the current care system was not working and produced recommendations for change. But concerns have been raised that progress on the promised reform is not fast enough.
Fiona Duncan, independent strategic advisor of The Promise Scotland – the Scottish Government funded organisation charged with overseeing reforms to the childcare system – said children’s lives depended on urgent changes being made.
“When that child or young person dies in Scotland’s ‘care system’, we should all be concerned,” she said. “When their death could have been prevented, we should all be outraged at the morally reprehensible loss of a young life. This includes children and young people who took their own lives, or their deaths were related to drug use, who’ll never grow up to become adults.
“Cherishing and loving every single child and young person, making sure they get the support they need, when they need it, is the straightforward answer to stop this from being part of Scotland’s story.
“When talking about the death of children and young people, it can sound trite to say that there are lessons behind this data that must be learned,” added Duncan. “But they must be.”
About 12,000 children and young people are in care in Scotland and just over 4,000 in continuing care programmes which provide some support until 25.
Children and young people may be taken into care because of abuse or neglect, due to disabilities needing special care, because they have been trafficked or are involved in the criminal justice system.
Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland said the figures were deeply concerning, adding that “every loss of a child leaves a profound and lasting impact on family, friends, and all who care for them”.
“We know that 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 which should be an essential part of addressing preventable deaths.”
The Scottish Government has a duty to fully and properly investigate each child’s case which should be an essential part of addressing preventable deaths.
Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland
Kenny Murray, deputy chief executive of Who Cares? Scotland claimed change had been promised “for too long”. “Every year brings more news like this,” he added. “Each of these people belong to a community, will have family and will carry their own story, which is too often cut short.”
Since 2021, at the request of the Scottish Government, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate have been working together to review and monitor the deaths of children and young people in Scotland.
In March this year it published its first “National Hub data report” which summarises national child death data from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. It found that the highest categories of death were those of premature babies and the “sudden, unexpected and unexplained” deaths of children under one year old.
“Encouragingly, the death rate among older children and young people aged between 15-17 years has been falling over the past five years. However, it was a concern that suicide and self-harm was recorded as the leading cause of death,” they told The Ferret.
Its report recommends NHS boards, children’s services and other relevant national organisations “work together to identify any improvements” and prevent deaths.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said it was “committed to Keeping The Promise, by ensuring that all care experienced children and young people grow up safe, loved and respected”.
They added: “Through our ongoing work on suicide prevention there is a concerted focus on understanding and meeting the needs of the care experienced community, who we know face higher risk of suicide, so we can build more effective suicide prevention responses.”
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