SDSS response to SDS Improvement Plan consultation

The forthcoming SDS Improvement Plan aims to drive forward the implementation of Self Directed Support over the coming years.

In response to the consultation around the draft plan, SDSS spoke with our members to find out what is important to them, what they believe needs to happen to improve SDS in the coming years, and what actions they think the plan should include to support them in their work to deliver choice and control around social care support.

Our detailed response to the consultation reflects what our members highlighted during our engagement sessions, and what we’ve learned from our work with Independent Support Organisations, individuals accessing SDS and carers, and with partners across the sector.

Our response highlights the vital importance of Independent Support, community brokerage and advocacy in actualising people’s aspirations, and call for strong action to embed these approaches consistently across Scotland. We also advocate that the final Plan demonstrates a refocusing of the balance of power so that people directing their own support are at the centre. We call for lived experience to run as a golden thread throughout the final Plan, with people who use SDS, and carers, involved in all the actions from planning to delivery and ongoing monitoring and measurement.

You can read our detailed response to the consultation here: SDSS response to SDS Improvement Plan consultation, February 2023

We will keep SDSS members updated as the finalisation of the Improvement Plan progresses, with the Plan being a major focus of the SDS National Voice conference 2023 on 22 March.