Interim National Care Service Advisory Board: Advice to Scottish Ministers and Council Leaders - Scope of the final NCS Advisory Board

Risks/challenges associated with advice

Risk/challenge: If the Advisory Board is prevented from considering the services which may be delegated, it cannot take an holistic view of health and social care, and particular problems might fall through the cracks.

Response/mitigation: The interim Board believes that there are already aspects of these services – particularly relating to the interface with other social care systems – which do not have a natural “home.” The transition from children’s services to adult services; the means by which people in the justice social work system access mental health or drugs and alcohol services; and the barriers preventing people experiencing homelessness from accessing wider social care support are good examples of this. It is in cases such as these that the interim Board believes the final Board should have the ability to explore issues and ensure the necessary improvements are made.

Risk/challenge: If the Advisory Board advises on the services which may be delegated, confusion could arise, as different governance and improvement bodies provide different advice.

Response/mitigation: It is the interim Board’s strong advice that the final Board should seek to add value and intervene where there are gaps in the improvement landscape, rather than to intervene in good work already under way.

The Advisory Board’s advice is not binding. Its strength lies in its ability to bring all perspectives in the system together, to work collectively to find solutions which might not previously have been considered. In the event that the Advisory Board felt it necessary to provide advice which was not aligned to the direction from other governance or improvement arrangements for these services, it would be for the recipients of the Board’s recommendations to consider it alongside any other advice they had received, and all other relevant considerations, and choose a course of action.