SDSS’ response to the National Care Service Bill Stage 2
Self Directed Support Scotland have today published our response to the call for evidence on proposed amendments to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill, which was first introduced in June 2022, aims to establish a National Care Service for Scotland and bring greater consistency to the way social care support is delivered across the country.
Since the Bill was introduced, the Scottish Government have suggested amendments to the wording to reflect changes to the originally proposed structure for the National Care Service. These changes were a result of a period of co-design including people with lived experience, and the agreement on accountability for the service that was reached between Scottish Government, COSLA and the NHS in July 2023.
In our response, we acknowledge that these proposed amendments have had a significant impact on our confidence in the Bill to bring about the essential changes needed to reform and improve social care support in Scotland.
Our detailed response sets out our position, including that we support the underlying principles of the National Care Service and some parts of the Bill – for example the proposed introduction of a National Social Work Agency, with the potential this will have to lead to greater consistency in the training and professional development of the social work workforce.
However, we remain unconvinced that the Bill goes far enough in its current form to address the main challenges currently affecting the delivery of social care in Scotland. We believe these can be addressed by focusing on improving the implementation of Self-directed Support, as recognised in the recently published findings from the Post-Legislative Scrutiny process.
