News
Read the latest news on our work and wider social care policy in Scotland.
News
13 June 2025Care Reform (Scotland) Bill passed by Scottish Parliament
The Care Reform (Scotland) Bill has now been passed by Scottish Parliament. The Bill has been passed following it’s original iteration of the National Care Service Bill. The Bill will…
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6 June 2025New SDS Standard for Social Workers Published
Social Work Scotland have now published SDS Standard 13: Direct Payments for employing Personal Assistants. The Standard aims to ensure that Personal Assistant employers are consistently supported by social workers…
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23 May 2025Invitation to learn about work that supports PAs in Scotland
The Personal Assistant Programme Board is a group of people including Scottish Government who are working to improve things across Scotland for PAs and Employers. Once a year the…
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20 May 2025Reflecting on SDS National Voice 2025
In March we were delighted to welcome more than 160 people to our annual conference, SDS National Voice. Held in person at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, and online for…
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1 April 2025Scottish Personal Assistant Workforce Survey 2025
Calling all Personal Assistants! We need your help to understand more about the Personal Assistant workforce in Scotland. The Scottish Personal Assistant Workforce Survey 2025 is now live, and we…
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18 March 2025PA Recruitment toolkit published
A new toolkit has been published which it is hoped will help Personal Assistant Employers, and the organisations which support them, with recruiting PAs. The toolkit, which has been developed…
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12 March 2025Increase in the minimum hourly rate for PAs from April 2025
The Scottish Government has announced that the minimum rate of pay for Personal Assistants will increase to £12.60 an hour from April 2025. The increase is part of funding agreed…
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19 February 2025Workshops announced for SDS National Voice conference 2025
With just a month to go until the SDS National Voice conference on 19 March 2025, we’re pleased to announce details of the workshops that will be taking place on…
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6 February 2025Independent Living Fund Broadens their Eligibility Criteria to Account for Unpaid Care
As of the 27th of January 2025, the Independent Living Fund Scotland has announced that applications can now be submitted where the budget is less than £800 but more than…
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4 February 2025New e-learning modules launched for Personal Assistants
Two brand new e-learning modules aimed at Personal Assistants and their Employers have been launched by Self Directed Support Scotland. The modules were developed following the publication of the Personal…
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29 January 2025Applications now open for Community Brokerage course 2025/26
Applications are now open for the next delivery of the Community Brokerage Award, running from September 2025 to June 2026. The Award is a certified course that will help you…
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27 January 2025Programme announced for SDS National Voice conference 2025
The programme for this year’s SDS National Voice conference, Scotland’s only national conference dedicated to Self-directed Support, has been announced. Organised by Self Directed Support Scotland and now in its…