Health and social care reform - year 1 progress report: population health and service renewal frameworks

1. Foreword

In 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework and the Service Renewal Framework. Together, these set out our shared vision for health and social care reform:

"A Scotland where people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives, now and in the future."

The challenges facing Scotland's health and social care system are significant. We face persistent inequalities in health outcomes, growing demand for services, demographic change, workforce pressures and increasing financial constraints. Meeting these challenges requires a different approach: one that improves population health, prevents ill health wherever possible, supports people and communities to thrive, and ensures that services are sustainable for the future.

This report marks the end of the first year of delivery against these frameworks. As a ten-year programme of reform, it is too early to expect significant changes in many of the long-term outcomes we seek to achieve. However, important progress has been made in establishing the foundations required for lasting change and making positive progress across the range of key actions that we are committed to deliver.

These achievements have only been possible because of the commitment and collaboration of partners across Scotland – including local government, NHS Boards, integration authorities, the third sector, community organisations, professional groups and people with lived experience who have all played vital roles in shaping and delivering this work. Reform on this scale can only succeed through shared leadership and collective action.

While considerable work remains ahead, the progress set out in this report demonstrates that reform is moving from ambition to implementation. We are building stronger partnerships, improving our ability to plan and deliver services around population need, and creating the conditions for a greater focus on prevention, early intervention and person-led care.

The coming year will be equally important, where we will continue to build on these foundations, learn from implementation, and adapt our approach where needed. By working together, we remain committed to improving health and wellbeing, reducing inequalities, and ensuring that people across Scotland can access high-quality, sustainable health and social care services for generations to come.

Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care, Scottish Government

Councillor Paul Kelly, Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, COSLA