National Care Service: Interim Advisory Board
Overview
An interim advisory board was set up in 2025 to provide advice and suggest where improvements can be made to social care, social work and community health services to help ensure they are consistent, fair and high-quality across Scotland.
The interim Board members included the range of required perspectives and experiences identified through earlier co-design engagement.
Purpose
Ministers asked the Interim Board to:
- advise on the composition and scope of the final Advisory Board
- set its own workplan and priorities for improvement
The Interim Board was appointed to allow this work to begin quickly while recruitment for the final Advisory Board was completed.
Advice provided
The Interim Board provided advice to Ministers and Council Leaders on:
- Getting it Right for Everyone
- self-directed support
- Coming Home
- Fair Work
- rights to breaks for carers
- the composition of the final Advisory Board
- the scope of services the final Advisory Board should cover
Meetings
The Interim Board held five formal meetings between May 2025 and February 2026, plus a transition meeting in March 2026.
- 21 May 2025 - members discussed how they would work together and the NCS Charter of Rights.
- 24 June 2025 - members discussed how they would work together, whether certain children's services should fall within the final Advisory Board's scope, and membership and support structures for the final Board.
- 23 September 2025 - members discussed whether justice social work should be within scope, the Board's priorities for advice, and membership of the final Board.
- 10 November 2025 - members discussed values and attitudes, membership of the final Board, and agreed five priority work themes: Getting it Right for Everyone; self-directed support; Coming Home; Fair Work; and rights to breaks for carers.
- 9 February 2026 - members discussed draft advice on the five priority work themes and membership and infrastructure of the final Board.
- 25 March 2026 - transition meeting between the Interim Board and the final NCS Advisory Board.
Minutes of all meetings will be published on this page following the Scottish Parliament election on 7 May 2026.
Spotlight sessions
Alongside formal meetings, the Board took part in a series of spotlight sessions. These gave members a grounding in relevant aspects of the health and social care system and provided space to share concerns and discuss issues together. Topics covered included:
- social work and social care in Scotland
- integration arrangements
- improvement
- Fair Work
- data
- participation approaches
- board evaluation
Members
The Interim Board included two categories of member.
Individual members, appointed for their personal experience of accessing or delivering social care, social work and community health services:
- Susan Douglas-Scott (Chair)
- Jim Hume
- Marion McArdle
- Sandra Auld
- Tracey McFall
- Eireann McAuley
Partner organisation members, appointed in their capacity as representatives of key organisations:
- Anne-Marie Monaghan, Independent Living Fund
- Dr Donald Macaskill, Scottish Care
- Donna Bell, Scottish Government
- Eddie Fraser, SOLACE
- Fiona Davies, NHS Highland
- Iona Colvin, Children and Families National Leadership Group
- Nicola Dickie, COSLA
- Rachel Cackett, Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland
- Soumen Sengupta, South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board
- Theresa Shearer, Enable
- Tressa Burke, Glasgow Disability Alliance
The final NCS Advisory Board
Susan Douglas-Scott has been appointed as Chair of the final Advisory Board.