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Voting rights for Lived Experience members of Integration Joint Boards

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 6th January 2026

Scottish Government accepts ALLIANCE call for voting rights for lived experience, unpaid carer and third sector representatives.

The Scottish Government has put forward legislation to extend voting rights to members with lived experience of the social care, social work and community health system on Integration Joint Boards (IJBs). These include unpaid carers and third sector representatives.

This is expected to come into force in September and marks a step toward ensuring that those who access and support community health and social care services have an equal say in shaping the decisions that affect their communities.

IJBs oversee the planning, commissioning and delivery of community health and social care services locally. Traditionally, voting rights were reserved for representatives from local authorities and NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government has accepted the views of the Feeley Review, the ALLIANCE and the Carers Collaborative that excluding lived experience members from voting undermines their ability to fully participate in IJB decision-making. Granting these rights ensures that their perspectives carry equal weight in shaping services.

The ALLIANCE has consistently advocated for voting rights on IJBs to be extended to all public partners, including lived experience, unpaid carer, and third sector representatives, and is strongly in support of this move. Most recently we called for voting rights to be extended in our response to a Scottish Government consultation, which you can read here.

In the run up to September, further work will be undertaken to establish clear processes that support the changes, including a review of the guidance covering recruitment, appointment, training and support of all IJB members.

The Scottish Government plans to work with public sector partners and existing lived experience representatives to make sure this review addresses the concerns highlighted during the consultation and engagement process. If you would like more information on this, or want to get involved, please contact nationalcareservice@gov.scot.

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