The Bill to establish a National Care Service will now be delayed until the beginning of March – almost two years after it was first introduced to parliament.

MSPs have agreed to a fourth delay of the National Care Service legislation which will now see it debated a full year after initially planned.

Sandesh Gulhane MSP, a member of Holyrood’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee which leads scrutiny of the Bill, said the Bill is being “rewritten as we speak” and the government must set a realistic timetable for the parliament.

This comes after Social Care and Mental Wellbeing Minister, Maree Todd assured the Committee that the government will not withdraw the NCS Bill.

Dr Gulhane told parliament:

“We agree that the Bill needs to be further delayed, but why not decide when the changes to the bill can realistically be completed and then create a realistic timetable? That would allow us to vote on a Bill that we can read, not one that we need to guess at.”

The past year has seen the government embark on an extensive co-design programme with the sector.

Ms Todd told MSPs that the government “remains committed” to delivering on the original aims of the National Care Service.

The government is now proposing to change key elements of the Bill – like no longer setting up care boards and keeping social care delivery within the remit of local authorities – at stage 2.

However social care leaders have questions over the new proposals for what they are calling a “fundamentally changed” care service.

Ms Todd told MSPs that she thinks government has a clear idea of the legislation going forward:

“I believe that our proposals for changing the Bill at stage 2 are a highly reasonable and balanced proposition.

“As far as possible, they accommodate the various stakeholders’ positions while ensuring that we can still effect the real change and improvements that people who use social care services today require and deserve.”

 

Read more: Nurses call for care service bill to be abandoned; Government says it will not withdraw NCS Bill;

 

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