“Should only ever occur in exceptional circumstances.” That’s how the Scottish Government frames cross‑border placements. From 9 February 2026, new regulations take effect in Scotland, creating a single legal route for councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to place children in Scottish residential or foster care, with clear duties and enforcement. (gov.scot)

The scale is not trivial. As at 31 October 2025, around 101 children from elsewhere in the UK were living in Scottish residential homes: 94 from England, six from Northern Ireland and one from Wales. Placements are spread across 21 Scottish council areas, with the highest numbers in South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, and Dumfries and Galloway. Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) placements have fallen from 17 in December 2022 to four in October 2025. A separate autumn return suggested roughly 34 cross‑border foster placements by September 2025. (gov.scot)

Legally, the instrument recognises certain orders from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in Scotland as if they were Scottish compulsory supervision orders (CSOs) for tightly defined purposes. That includes care and supervision orders, education supervision orders and Deprivation of Liberty orders. A three‑working‑day “bridging” period applies when the legal basis for a placement changes, avoiding any gap in authority while paperwork is updated. (legislation.gov.uk)

Before a temporary residential placement proceeds, the placing authority must issue written notice and a formal undertaking, sharing core details with the local NHS Health Board, the receiving council’s chief social work and education leads, Scottish Ministers, Police Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. Any residential setting must be Care Inspectorate‑registered. (legislation.gov.uk)

Safeguards around liberty are explicit. A DoL order from another jurisdiction must be reviewed by the issuing court at least every three months to continue having effect in Scotland. Without that schedule of reviews, its effect lapses under the Scottish rules. (legislation.gov.uk)

Once a child is placed, the visiting and reviewing timetable is set in law. An officer from the placing authority must visit within one week and then at intervals of no more than six weeks. Extra visits are required if the child, a parent or the home’s manager asks, or if the Care Inspectorate has issued an improvement notice. Placement reviews must happen within one month, then within three months, and every six months thereafter, with at least ten working days’ notice to local services. (legislation.gov.uk)

For fostering, the placing authority must assess the household, visit the address (or arrange an urgent follow‑up visit), and sign a written agreement with the foster carer covering support, training, finance, complaints, liabilities, confidentiality and review frequency. The placing fostering authority remains responsible for services and costs throughout the placement. (legislation.gov.uk)

Ministers say the framework is designed to make the placement process “better regulated” and to pin responsibility for temporary placements firmly on the placing authority. Officials also note that some children have previously arrived without education provision, leaving them out of school for prolonged periods - a gap this framework seeks to close. Alongside this, Scottish Ministers will offer funded advocacy to children placed into residential care to help them get their views across. (gov.scot)

If duties are not met, the escalation route is clear. Scottish Ministers can serve a 21‑day notice on the placing authority and then apply to the local sheriff court to enforce visits, reviews or other obligations. Any enforcement order made by the sheriff is final. (legislation.gov.uk)

Where a child’s placement becomes long‑term, there is a route to convert certain English or Northern Irish orders into a Scottish CSO with the host council’s consent. Once notified, a children’s hearing must be arranged within 20 working days, bringing the case fully into Scotland’s system. (legislation.gov.uk)

The regulations also tidy up the statute book. They revoke the 2013 transfer regulations and the 2022 emergency DoL rules, with savings for existing cases. The instrument was signed on 21 January 2026 and comes into force on 9 February 2026. (legislation.gov.uk)

What this means for Northern councils and providers: for authorities that sometimes look north for placements, expectations are now unambiguous - fund the support, stick to the visit and review timetable, and ensure health and education are in place before a child crosses the border. For Scottish communities hosting children’s homes, the information‑sharing duties should mean schools, NHS teams and Police Scotland are not left in the dark when a young person arrives. (legislation.gov.uk)