Former Who Cares? Scotland chief to advise on Care Review
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, July 1, 2021
The former chief executive of Who Cares? Scotland is acting as an expert adviser to the Care Review in England, it has been revealed.
Duncan Dunlop, who also sat on the expert advisory panel for New Zealand Care Review in 2015/16 and lobbied for the launch of Scottish Care Review in 2017, led Scotland’s national charity for care experienced people for nine years until 2020.
Dunlop, who is the first of the review’s expert advisors to be announced, has said the review can “learn a lot” from both its New Zealand and Scottish counterparts.
He will provide advice, support and challenge across the breadth of the team's work, the Care Review has said.
“He is also feeding his wealth of prior experience into the review’s programme of engagement and participation with children and young people and adults with lived experience,” it added.
Dunlop will work alongside review chair Josh MacAlister and review team head civil servant Shazia Hussain.
He said: “It’s almost 10 years since I shared a platform with care experienced young people in Scotland and asked decision makers to consider love as the main driving force behind care. Hearing Josh MacAlister challenge us all to think about the love and relationships we build around children, instead of the services we offer them, tells me we are on the same page.
“Scotland and England have different systems and different challenges but there is a lot for us to learn from the Scottish review.
“Similarly there are lessons from the New Zealand government who recognised they were delivering unacceptable outcomes for vulnerable children and young people and sought to rethink their whole approach.”
MacAlister added: “With experience of not one but two independent reviews of children’s social care, Duncan brings not only expertise but an understanding of how to turn words into action to the English care review.
“As we consider how we ensure children grow up in loving, stable and safe families and, where that is not possible, care provides the same foundations, having someone with Duncan’s passion and commitment to this cause is an asset to the whole review team.
“Duncan has been at the forefront of the fight to secure rights for care experienced people in Scotland and New Zealand and we will benefit hugely from his expertise and passion.”
