There have been a number of significant changes and developments in relation to the Scottish Government’s National Care Service (NCS) proposals over the last few months. This communication sets out a summary of these changes, as well as the ALLIANCE’s position and plans for activity related to the NCS going forward.Â
The changes that have been announced include:Â
- Accountability for the National Care Service will be shared between the Scottish Government, local government and the NHS, meaning responsibility for care will be shared between them rather than held solely by the Scottish Government.
- There will be a National Care Service Board created, intended to provide strong oversight of integration authorities and a national – local link. Reformed integration authorities will be accountable to this national NCS Board.
- There will be lived experience involvement in the NCS Board with voting rights, and there has been a commitment made by Scottish Government to involve everyone in co-designing this. However, it has not yet been proposed that the third and independent sectors will be represented on it.
- The NCS will now be delivered through Integration Joint Boards (IJBs), although with some reforms to them, rather than through local Care Boards as originally proposed. The detail of what these reforms will entail has not yet been fully explained, but it has been confirmed that the reforms would similarly include giving voting rights to lived experience representatives.
- A national social work agency will be established.
- A decision has not been taken on whether children’s and justice services will be included within the NCS or not. Research led by Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELSIS) will inform a decision around whether children’s services may be included.
You can read more about the most recent changes on the ALLIANCE website linked here.
