National Care Service
The Independent Review into Adult Social Care (IRASC) recommended the establishment of a National Care Service.
Following these recommendations and our National Care Service consultation, we introduced the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill to Parliament on 20 June 2022.
We have committed to establishing a functioning National Care Service by the end of this parliamentary term in 2026.
Vision for the National Care Service
Our vision is set out in a new National Care Service: statement of benefits.
People have told us they want a National Care Service accountable to Scottish Ministers, with services designed and delivered locally.
The National Care Service will have equality, dignity and human rights at its heart. It will empower people to make the choices that are right for them.
Watch a video about our vision for the National Care Service.
People’s experience and needs should inform a future National Care Service. We asked people across Scotland to suggest the improvements they’d like to see. Watch a short film about what they told us.
Find out more in alternative formats:
- National Care Service: statement of benefits – easy read
- National Care Service: statement of benefits – BSL
- National Care Service: statement of benefits – audio recording
Designing with the people of Scotland
As we start shaping a future National Care Service, we are committed to listening to the voices of the real experts. These are people with lived experience of care services, whether they are people accessing care and support, their families and unpaid carers, or the social services workforce and providers.
That’s why we established the Social Covenant Steering Group - to help make sure that we are engaging with the right people, in the right way.
This will be particularly important if we want everyone in Scotland to:
- get the community health, social work and social care support they need to live their lives, and
- be active members of their communities
We will work with people with lived experience to design a National Care Service for everyone. Find out more: National Care Service: Co-design Paper.
Alternative formats:
- National Care Service: Co-design Paper – easy read
- National Care Service: Co-design Paper – BSL
- National Care Service: Co-design Paper – audio recording
There are also other easy read documents, which explain some of the key concepts around the National Care Service and how it will work.
The National Care Services Forum
This free event took place in Perth on 3 October 2022.
It was an opportunity to discuss and share your views about:
- what the NCS is
- why it matters so much
- what people need from the NCS
The National Care Service Forum was open to everyone, including:
- people who access community health and social care services
- the social care workforce
- carers and unpaid carers
- professionals working across the public, private and third sector with specific policy interests in the NCS
Full details of the programme.
Read more
- National Care Service - collection
- Impact Assessments for the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill
- A National Care Service for Scotland Consultation – We Asked You Said We Did
- Policy Memorandum, Financial Memorandum, and other related documents on parliament.scot
- National Care Service evidence papers