Interim National Care Service Advisory Board: Advice to Scottish Ministers and Council Leaders - Coming Home

Background

8. Work to implement Coming Home so far has included:

• Dynamic Support Register (DSR)

Launched in May 2023, the DSR improves the visibility of people with learning disabilities and complex care needs at local and national levels. It provides information to support local planning and decision making, and helps monitor progress on the delivery of Coming Home. Guidance sets out that anyone on the register with a red rating, meaning they are in hospital, placed inappropriately out of area, or at risk of support breakdown, should be involved in a review of their personal action plan every 2 weeks.

• Peer Support Network

Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) facilitates the Peer Support Network. It meets every 8 weeks and brings together learning disability professionals from across Scotland. The Network supports sharing best practice, and helps with planning services for people with particularly complex care needs. It has considered a range of issues relating to the Coming Home agenda, including:

• housing
• commissioning
• children and young people transitions
• Human Rights
• collaboration with families.

• National Support Panel

The National Support Panel aims to improve support and accountability, and hear from families and individuals about their circumstances. The consultation on the Learning Disabilities and Neurodivergence Bill set out options for the Panel’s role and scope. Further work is underway to develop how the Panel will operate.

• Community Change Living Fund

The Scottish Government provided £20 million over 3 years, from 2022 to 2025, to help health and social care partnerships to improve community based support for people with complex care needs. This funding was intended to support the Coming Home aim that, by March 2024, out of area placements would only be made through individual or family choice. There are some good examples of local areas using this funding to support moves into the community. Overall, however, the additional funding appears to have achieved less than was hoped. A full review of how local areas have spent the funding is underway and is due to report soon.

9. In July 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA set up a Short Life Working Group to develop a Coming Home Action Plan. The Plan will look at how to implement the remaining recommendations in the 2022 Coming Home Implementation Report. It will also highlight immediate priorities and establish the next phase of work. The Group’s work has focused on seven key areas:

• Dynamic Support Register data
• National Support Panel
• Redesign of Learning Disability Inpatient Services
• People who have been in hospital for 10 years or more
• Housing availability, suitability and sustainability
• Skilling up and strengthening community services
• Collaborative approach to commissioning services. The interim Board welcomes the fact that following its initial discussions with stakeholders and SG policy officials in this area, the SLWG has sought input into this work from the Independent Living Fund.