The Scottish government is to abandon structural reform of Scotland’s social care system, blaming a lack of support in the Scottish parliament and beyond.

Social Care Minister Maree Todd told MSPs today that she will scrap the first part of the National Care Service Bill.

This means legislation to reform integration joint boards, and set up a new public body to oversee national improvements, will no longer go ahead.

An advisory board without legal powers will instead be set up to advise ministers on how they can use their existing powers to make improvements in the sector.

Part of its role will be to help the government develop a national support and improvement framework, to encourage more consistent services across Scotland and determine what help is given to services when they fail to meet standards.

Ms Todd told parliament the board will meet for the first time in March and be independently chaired – “hopefully” by someone with lived experience – with membership made up of unpaid carers, people who access care, NHS, council, and integration joint board leaders, the third sector and representatives from the Scottish government.

Other parts of the Bill with more popular support, like Anne’s Law and improved data sharing across the health and social care sector, will also now be taken forward in primary legislation.

In a ministerial statement this afternoon, the minister said:

“We made considerable effort to find compromise and  way forward but it is clear that those proposals are not supported by this chamber. I’ve concluded that we must deliver our Scottish national care service without legislating for structural reform, securing a different means to deliver our goals.

“It is therefore my intention to remove Part 1 from the bill at stage 2 and proceed with Parts 2 and 3 only.

“I realise this will be a source of disappointment to many, particularly to those with lived experience who have been clear that greater transparency and scrutiny is necessary to drive the improvement we all agree is needed

“I want to reassure those people that I remain committed to the ambitions of the National Care Service.”

 

The troubled history of the National Care Service Bill

Scottish government plans for a National Care Service have been beset with disagreement and delay since their publication in 2021.

Most recently, the government’s proposed amendments to its Bill, published last summer, were met with frustration and disappointment by the sector.

Council body COSLA, trade unions and the Scottish Green Party withdrew their support for the Bill soon after, with many more care organisations expressing significant concerns with changes to the Bill proposed by the government.

A pause to the Bill was announced in November, in response.

Today’s announcement of the watering down of social care reform is a significant departure from assurances made by the minister last November; that the delay would be short, to allow Ms Todd to build a network of allies across parliament to allow the reforms to pass.

 

Read more: A timeline of Scotland's National Care Service Bill; New shape of National Care Service emerging

Sign up to our bulletin for key health & social care updates straight to your inbox.