Documents from the Scottish government indicate that 23 organisations have now agreed to participate in the scheme and make financial contributions to compensate victims of historical abuse.

Scotland’s 32 local authorities have pledged up to £100 million over 10 years, while religious organisations, charities, and public bodies have also agreed to contribute.

The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, a Roman Catholic order, has committed up to £10m to victims abused at their institutions. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry found that children at Smyllum Park orphanage and Bellevue House were subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Inquiry chairwoman Lady Smith described the homes as places of “fear, threat and excessive discipline” where children found “no love, no compassion, no dignity and no comfort”.

Another Catholic order, the Sisters of Nazareth, has pledged up to £5.75 million. In 2019, the inquiry found children in its homes endured abuse, humiliation, and sexual assault. “There was sexual abuse of children which, in some instances, reached levels of the utmost depravity,” Lady Smith said.

The Charity Trustees of the Church of Scotland have settled for a maximum of £2m, apologising to victims: “Children who should have been offered protection were, instead, harmed.”

Children’s charities Aberlour and Barnardo’s have each agreed to contribute more than £1m, while all 22 NHS Scotland boards, including the State Hospital at Carstairs, and the Scottish Prison Service are also participating in the scheme.

More than 200 women have alleged abuse at Fornethy House residential school in Kilry, Blairgowrie, in the 1960s. Former residents claim they were beaten as well as humiliated, and sexually assaulted. However, the government has stated that the scheme cannot cover Fornethy survivors due to strict eligibility rules requiring long-term care stays and specific evidence thresholds.