The Scottish Parliament’s Health & Sport Committee is set to explore the “wide variation” in performance and “ambition for change” among health and social care integration authorities.

Speaking in a debate on the Scottish Government’s budget proposals, Lewis Macdonald, the Committee’s convener, added this would begin once the Committee had access to a Scottish Government internal review of integration authority performance, due in early February.

The authorities were created in 2016 to bring together services previously delivered by health boards and local authorities. In most cases, representatives from a council and the local health board sit on an integrated joint board that oversees a health and care partnership formed between the two. In 2018-19, these authorities were responsible for a budget of more than £8bn. 

Yet there have been concerns that progress on integration has been patchy. A November 2018 Audit Scotland report found there was “significant local variation in performance” and warned good practice was not being shared often enough.

The Labour north-east MSP also raised concerns about transparency in the new system.

He told MSPs integration authorities had only made “limited progress” on linking their spending priorities to the nine national health and wellbeing outcomes set by the Scottish Government.

“For us to scrutinise policy priorities and the allocation of resources, we need to know not just the sums allocated but the impacts and outcomes that the investment provides”, he said.

This follows the Committee’s pre-budget report that suggested it was “unacceptable” authorities were not reporting against these outcomes despite a statutory requirement to do so.

The Health & Sport Committee convener said:

“The Committee has conducted several inquiries, which has included holding evidence sessions with a range of Integration Authorities to assess the progress they are making to deliver the shift in the balance of care...We have raised concerns that their appear to be inconsistencies in performance regarding leadership, and driving change in the delivery of services.

“The Committee will be taking evidence from the Cabinet Secretary and COSLA on the review’s findings and recommendations at its meeting on 19^th February.”