Jeane Freeman has said the Scottish government is “content with all the recommendations” of the national review of adult social care and suggested work to implement them could begin before the May elections.

Among the 53 recommendations made by former NHS Scotland CEO Derek Feeley in the report published earlier this month is the appointment of a new care minister.

The review advocated more funding for unpaid carers as well as stripping local authorities of their dual role as both commissioners and providers of social care.

Speaking to the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee – which published its own report looking at social care today – Ms Freeman said: “What I think the Feeley review did was look at what it thought needed to happen to get the practice of integration aligned with world-class legislation on integration, and what, if any, change has to be made to the architecture around that.

“His conclusion is there should be a national care service that should be directly accountable to ministers and ministers should be directly accountable for it. And the route of delivery that he identified are Integration Joint Boards.

“So, that significantly alters their role and therefore the resourcing goes direct to them. I completely understand the logic of his thinking and in response to the review, we welcome all the recommendations.

“The current government is content with all the recommendations and a week today we have a government debate in Parliament on the independent review.

Ms Freeman added: “Of course, given the timing of all of this, Parliament stops towards the end of March, there are the May elections, and so a great deal of pick up from the review will be for a future government.

“But there are some steps I think that we can take in advance of all of that that helps to lay the foundations for all of that national care service and that particular person-centred approach that Derek Feeley is advocating.”

During the meeting the Health Secretary also signalled significant funding reforms were on the horizon for health and social care in Scotland.

“The experience of the pandemic has seen significantly greater integrated working on the ground and in practice – proper joint decision making where services understand the contribution different parts of the health and social care system make, and the value of each,” she told MSPs.

“It’s unfortunate that it takes a pandemic to do that but it does mean everyone is pointing in the one direction and working together to resolve matters.

“That, combined with the review of the adult social care, means as we move into the next financial year we are likely to see a different funding arrangement than what we have seen before.”

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