Long-overdue transformational change must start now

Sara Redmond, ALLIANCE Chief Officer, speaks ahead of the final vote on the Care Reform Bill.

Speaking ahead of the final vote on the Care Reform Bill, formerly the National Care Service Bill, Sara Redmond, Chief Officer at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), said Scotland must focus now on how much-needed social care reform would now be delivered.  

The ALLIANCE is the national third sector membership organisation for the health and social care sector, representing over 3,500 members. While the ALLIANCE recommends that the bill should be passed, with a few amendments, it is also calling for “cross-party work on long-overdue transformational change to start now”.  

Sara Redmond said: “While the Bill has some potential to improve human rights and improve health and social care services that people need; overall it is a missed opportunity. Rights to breaks for carers, Anne’s Law, and improving access to independent advocacy are welcome developments. However, major elements have been removed from the Bill, meaning it will not bring about the long-overdue and long-term transformational change we had all hoped for.  

“When the National Care Service Bill was introduced in June 2022, it represented an opportunity for this transformational change in social care, and an opportunity to implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (the Feeley Review). 

“The ALLIANCE is dismayed that large parts of the original bill have been dropped, including all the legislative commitments. We have been consistently clear the original Bill did not meet the transformational change people needing social care support have called for, and the removal of all commitments from law to social care system reform leaves an uncertain future.  

“It now remains unclear what social care reforms will be delivered and when. As we described in our recent joint paper with partner organisations, ‘The National Care Service – Where Now?’ the last four years demonstrate that significant cross-party support, collective institutional effort and meaningful stakeholder involvement is essential to advance reform over the long term. The work to ensure this happens must start now.” (2) 

Sara added: “Social care has been broken for a long time. It is chronically underfunded, with a lack of accountability and national oversight, and is often treated as an afterthought. In practice, this means that people are not receiving the social care support that they have a right to, restricting their independent living, choice and control and preventing them from realising their human rights. We must act now.” 

“The National Care Service – Where Now?’ (April 2025) paper was published by CCPS, Coalition of Carers in Scotland, Glasgow Disability Alliance, the ALLIANCE, Inclusion Scotland, Scottish Care. Available at https://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/news/the-national-care-service-where-now/ 

For media enquiries contact Christina Cran christina.cran@alliance-scotland.org.uk

End of page.