Technical Notes 2022, Issue 149 - National Care Service (Scotland) Bill – Integration Joint Board Response to Call for Views
Report by:
Gerry Cornes, Chief Executive
TN Number:
149-22
Subject:
National Care Service (Scotland) Bill – Integration Joint Board Response to Call for Views
Responsible Officer:
Caroline Sinclair, HSCP Chief Officer and Chief Social Work Officer
Publication:
This Technical Note will be published on the Council’s website following circulation to Members. Its contents may be disclosed or shared outwith the Council.
Section
On 1 September 2020, the First Minister announced that there would be an Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland as part of the Programme for Government. Derek Feeley, a former Scottish Government Director General for Health and Social Care and Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, chaired the Review. The Independent Review concluded at the end of January 2021 and its report, together with an accompanying short film, was published on 3 February 2021. These can be accessed on the following link Independent Review of Adult Social Care
The Independent Review was not, in itself, a Scottish Government programme for change, but its recommendations, of which there were 53, formed the foundations of reform proposals, which were subsequently consulted on, and are now being further developed by Scottish Government, including the proposed development of a National Care Service.
Scottish Government developed and published the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill on the 21st June 2022. The stated aim of the Bill is to ensure that everyone can consistently access community health, social care and social work services, regardless of where they live in Scotland. It provides for a National Care Service, accountable to Scottish Ministers, with services designed and delivered locally.
The Bill establishes the National Care Service and allows Scottish Ministers to transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to this new, national service. This could include adult and children’s services, as well as areas such as justice social work.
The Scottish Government committed to consulting with the public before transferring responsibilities relating to children’s services or justice social work to the new service, and the evidence base review of both these areas of service has now commenced. The outcome of this review will inform the consultation stage.
Scottish Ministers are also able to transfer healthcare functions from the NHS and health boards to the National Care Service.
Care or health services that are transferred to the new service could be delivered nationally or locally. New bodies called “care boards” would be responsible for delivering care locally.
As well as establishing the National Care Service, the Bill makes other changes including:
allowing information to be shared by the National Care Service and the NHS
introducing a right to breaks for carers
giving rights to people living in adult care homes to see the people important to them (known as “Anne’s Law”, and a direct response to the impact of visiting restrictions during the pandemic)
Scottish Government advise that the intention is to work with people who access support and those who provide it, including unpaid carers, to co-design the detail of how the National Care Service will work. To allow for that, the Bill creates a framework for the National Care Service but leaves space for more decision to be made at later stages. This also provides flexibility for the service to develop over time. As yet no timetable or methodology for this co-design process has been published but it is understood that it will commence after the Bill has completed its first stage through Parliament, in order to inform later stages.
There are a series of documents published to accompany the Bill:
A Policy Memorandum
Explanatory Notes
A Financial Memorandum
A Delegated Powers Memorandum
Statements on the legislative competence by the Presiding Officer and the Scottish Government
The Bill is currently at stage 1 of its process through Parliament, and the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will lead on the scrutiny of the Bill. This committee issued a call for evidence with a closing date for responses of the 2nd September 2022.
Following receipt of written responses, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will invite some people to give evidence in person after which a report will be written on the Bill and presented to the whole Parliament to vote on whether the Bill should continue. This is the end of Stage 1 and will likely be early in 2023.
If the Bill is agreed MSPs will have an opportunity to propose amendments to the final Bill (Stage 2) likely to be in the Summer of 2023 assuming it progresses to that stage, and finally Parliament will vote on whether to pass the final Bill (Stage 3).
A development session was facilitated with IJB members on the 18th August to elicit views on the proposals set out in the Bill and develop a response on behalf of the East Dunbartonshire IJB.
