The long-awaited review of institutional child abuse has been completed by independent expert Tom Shaw and submitted to ministers.

The Shaw Report will be published in the near future, a spokeswoman for the Minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram, said yesterday.

The report, covering abuse of young people in residential care in Scotland 1950-1995, proved to be such a huge task that Mr Shaw twice asked for an extension to the deadline.

In 2002, a former resident of a children's home petitioned the Scottish Parliament to investigate abuse dating back decades. A full public inquiry was rejected by ministers.

Many of those who had suffered abuse gave evidence to the Shaw Inquiry.

The review is expected to highlight failures in the system which have resulted in victims of abuse suing the state for failing to protect them while they were youngsters in care.

However, no individual homes or perpetrators will be named in order not to prejudice future criminal trials.

David Whelan, a former resident at the Quarriers home in Bridge of Weir, said that senior SNP figures had previously backed calls for a full inquiry into what happened at Quarriers and called on them to honour that commitment.