Health and social care service renewal: programme board - terms of reference

Purpose of Group

The Service Renewal Framework (SRF) Programme Board is responsible for overseeing delivery of the SRF’s initial actions, as well as supporting its continued development over its decade-long lifespan.

At a programme level, the Board will set strategic direction, monitor progress, and provide assurance to the Reform Executive and Reform Oversight Board that delivery is on track. It will ensure there is clear accountability for achieving the SRF’s agreed objectives, outcomes and benefits, and will act as an escalation point for identified risks and issues. The Board will, with the support of the SRF Delivery Board, ensure effective alignment and coordination between delivery partners, as well as maintain momentum and deliver the intended impact.

Programme aim

The SRF provides a blueprint for health and social care service reform in Scotland. It sets out high-level strategic policy intent for the coming decade, building on the Operational Improvement Plan (OiP), published in March 2025. The Framework aims to renew Health and Social Care by shifting the balance of care towards more preventative, community-based and person-led services; reducing inequalities, making care more accessible, equitable and digitally enabled. It also complements the Population Health Framework (PHF), setting out how health and social care services can contribute to prevention and early intervention.

Programme objectives

The SRF framework sets out a long-term strategic intent to renew health and social care services.  

It is underpinned by five key principles for renewal: 

• prevention principle: prevention across the continuum of care 
• people principle: care designed around people rather than the ‘system’ or ‘services’ 
• community principle: more care in the community rather than a hospital-focused model 
• population principle: population planning, rather than along boundaries 
• digital principle: reflecting societal expectations and system needs    

These principles provide an evidence-based and value-driven foundation from which to plan, make decisions, and deliver change.  

The SRF also sets out six major areas for change, which will deliver on the intentions behind these principles so that they become a reality. With the scale of Public Services Delivery Scotland, this has added a seventh major change. These are:

• major change 1: prevention - enhancing services that prevent disease, enable early detection and effectively manage long-term conditions
• major change 2: person-led - delivering health and social care that is people-led and ‘value based’
• major change 3: integration - strengthening integration across the system
• major change 4: access - improving access to services and treatments in the community
• major change 5: hospital redesign - redesigning our hospitals as we deliver more care within communities
• major change 6: digital and innovation - delivering services which are accessible through digital technologies, with people and our workforce able to access and make use of the right information
• major change 7: Public Services Delivery Scotland - transforming the capability of our National NHS Boards by the creation of a new single body called ‘Public Services Delivery Scotland’

It is recognised that realising these major changes will require rebalancing of resources, renewed system performance and outcomes measurements, and coordinated planning and delivery.  

Roles and responsibilities

To achieve its purpose, the Programme Board (PB) will oversee the delivery of the SRF by:

• maintaining programme-level oversight of partner and stakeholder contributions, ensuring delivery of the agreed aims, priorities, and outcomes, and alignment with the wider Public Service Reform Strategy and national Health and Social Care priorities
• ensuring shared clarity across all partners on programme objectives, delivery milestones, and progress, supporting a collective understanding of the programme’s direction and its contribution to the Health and Social Care vision
• championing the programme’s aims by engaging widely, consistently, and coherently with partners, senior leaders, and stakeholders to promote a common understanding of the vision, priorities, and expected benefits, fostering collective commitment to success
• building ownership and accountability by influencing and collaborating with system leaders and delivery partners and promoting a unified voice in support of the programme’s goals and outcomes
• encouraging continuous improvement through open and constructive dialogue, surfacing innovative ideas, identifying opportunities for enhancement, and directing the programme towards adapted delivery approaches where needed to maximise impact
• promoting integrated, cross-sector collaboration between national and local government, the voluntary sector, and other key stakeholders to ensure coordinated action and delivery of benefits

Authority and decision making

The SRF Programme Board will be accountable to the Reform Executive and Reform Oversight Board, with delegated authority for agreeing and prioritising the projects within SRF and overseeing delivery of the actions through regular reporting of progress, supported by a SRF Delivery Board. Architect of the SRF (aims, outcomes, scope) and its form (structure for commissioning/delivery). Risk escalation to Reform Executive and the Reform Oversight Board.

Reporting arrangements

Reporting of progress into Reform Executive, Reform Oversight Board and other forums as required. The SRF Porftolio Management Office (PMO) Team will support this by producing Summary status Reports for the consideration of the Programme Board.

An SBAR process for reporting issues and providing evidence to support amendments to agreed scope will be used. In the first instance the SRF leads would work through the issue, with the support of the coordination team. If a decision or solution cannot be found, then it would be escalated via SBAR to the SROs, Programme Board or Delivery Board following approval from Programme Delivery Director.

Any approved changes by the programme board will be submitted via a change request to the HSC Reform Portfolio PMO.   

Governance

The overall governance is jointly led by COSLA Leaders and Ministers. Both provide direction to a central Reform Oversight Board, which is responsible for maintaining strategic alignment and monitoring progress.

A Local Government Advisory Group supports COSLA Leaders, while a Stakeholder Advisory Group provides additional input to Ministers, ensuring wider engagement across sectors.

The Reform Executive sits beneath the Oversight Board and is responsible for driving delivery. It oversees three core programme areas:

• the Population Health Framework
• the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework

Alongside these programmes, a Portfolio Management Team supports coordination, ensuring consistent planning, tracking, and risk management across the reform work.

Frequency of meetings

The Programme Board is expected to meet quarterly to oversee delivery of the Service Renewal Framework with additional meetings if required at agreement of members. The SRF Delivery Board will aim to meet in advance of the Programme Board.

Minute of meetings

Minutes of Programme Board meetings will be drafted by the SRF PMO team and provided within one week of each meeting. Draft minutes will be circulated for review and cleared via email over the month following the meeting to ensure accuracy and agreement amongst members.

Quorum

Quorum will be inclusion at least one SRO, member of the Coordination and PMO teams and representation from at least half of the system leaders in the core membership. Any conflicts which cannot be resolved will be escalated to the Reform Executive or Reform Oversight Board as appropriate.

Realising these major changes will require rebalancing of resources, renewed system performance and outcomes measurements, and coordinated planning and delivery.  

Membership

Membership of the Board is detailed on the group page. 

Chair

The Programme Board will be co-chaired on a rotating basis by the SROs of the Service Renewal Framework Programme, Tim McDonnell, Director of Primary Care, (MC1 & MC4), Stephen Gallagher, Director of Mental Health, (MC1), Donna Bell, Director for Social Care and National Care Service, (MC2 &MC3), Christine McLaughlin, NHS Scotland Chief Operating Officer, (MC3, MC5 & MC6), providing overall strategic leadership and ensuring accountability for delivery.

Membership of the Board primarily comprises senior policy makers and system leaders from across the Scottish Government, COSLA, NHS, Integration Authorities and Third Sector, as detailed in the table above. Members collectively have the expertise and authority to support the Board in fulfilling its remit. Membership may be adjusted over the course of the Programme as required and will be reviewed at least annually to ensure it remains appropriate.

Other relevant organisations and groups may be consulted or co-opted as the Programme progresses, particularly at the workstream level, to provide targeted expertise. The Programme Board will be supported in its work by the Programme Management and Coordination Teams, which provide administrative, coordination, and secretariat functions to facilitate effective delivery and decision-making.

Authority and decision making

The Programme Board has delegated authority to make decisions necessary to ensure the effective delivery of the Service Renewal Framework Programme within its remit. Decisions will be taken collectively by the Board, with members expected to act in the best interests of the Programme, based on evidence, expert advice, and input from delivery partners.

The Board’s decision-making responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• approving the Programme Delivery Plan and any updates or revisions
• endorsing the Programme Monitoring and Evaluation framework
• allocating system resources and approving solutions to address delivery challenges
• making executive decisions on actions, priorities, and outputs within the agreed Programme remit
• addressing risks or issues that may affect delivery, including escalation to the Reform Executive or Reform Oversight Board where required
• providing guidance on the development of future actions under the SRF

 Responsibilities of Programme Board members

It is the responsibility of each member of the Programme Board to:

• actively participate in meetings to ensure the group fulfils its remit
• review and prepare for meetings by accessing relevant papers in advance
• report back to relevant stakeholders on activities and progress of the Programme
• provide support and expertise to the Board in areas within their professional remit
• notify the SRF Programme Team at HSCServiceRenewalFramework@gov.scot if unable to attend a meeting; if a deputy is to attend in their place, include their details in the email so an invite can be issued (meeting invites should not be forwarded to non-members).

Confidentiality

Information shared may be of a sensitive or confidential nature. All members have the responsibility to treat as confidential, information that may be available to them, or obtained by them, or that may be derived whilst working in SRF PB. It is the responsibility of authors to clearly mark any documentation or communication containing information of a sensitive or confidential nature to ensure it is easily identifiable to recipients. Unless otherwise stated, papers from these meetings are available for review upon request and will be held in a secure folder within the Scottish Government eRDM network. Anonymised minutes and papers will also be made available on the Scottish Government website following agreement by members.

Lifespan

The Programme Board will run for the length of the Service Renewal Framework, with annual reviews to assess whether amendments are needed.