National Care Service Bill Stage 2 Call for Views – ALLIANCE response
- Area of Work: Policy and Research, Social Care
- Type: News Item
- Published: 17th September 2024
The ALLIANCE support the principles of a National Care Service however the Bill requires substantial amendments to deliver what people need.
The ALLIANCE has submitted a response to the National Care Service Bill Stage 2 Call for Views highlighting our member’s feedback on the proposed amendments.
The ALLIANCE welcomes the Committee giving people and organisations an opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s draft Stage 2 amendments through the Call for Views. Although this is unusual and represents a departure from usual Parliamentary procedure, it is appropriate due to the significant changes since the Bill was introduced.
We support the principle of the creation of a National Care Service. The NCS offers an opportunity to improve people’s experiences of rights based, person centred social care – if designed and implemented in a way that responds to the concerns and experiences of people accessing social care and the workforce, and the recommendations in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.
However, we believe that the Bill as introduced requires substantial amendments at Stage 2 if it is to deliver improvements to the rights based, person centred social care that people need.
As detailed in this response, whilst a number of the Scottish Government’s amendments are welcome, they would not fully deliver these improvements. We are concerned that three years on from the original Scottish Government consultation, and more than two years since the Bill was introduced, a considerable amount of detail of how the NCS would operate in practice remains unclear. Our members have consistently reported difficulty in engaging with the Bill, due to this lack of detail and clarity.
The ALLIANCE participated in the Scottish Government’s Expert Legislative Advisory Group which provided comment ahead of the publication of the draft Stage 2 amendments. However, as we told the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, we would want to take the opportunity to make it clear that our participation should not be taken as an indication that we are necessarily supportive of all the Scottish Government amendments or have co-designed them. We did not have sight of the text of the amendments prior to them being shared with the Committee, and this response should be taken as the ALLIANCE’s views on them.
As stated in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, the National Care Service should ensure that everyone in Scotland gets the social care support they need to live their lives as they choose and to be active citizens. The National Care Service should enable us to work together by promoting and ensuring human rights, wellbeing, independent living and equity.
Read our response in full below.
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