Scotland’s local councils will now share accountability for people’s care in the National Care Service, following an agreement with the Scottish government and the NHS.

Social care staff will also continue to be employed by local authorities, according to today’s initial agreement.

In the legislation currently making its way through parliament – though now paused until next year – the National Care Service (NCS) will see the establishment of new care boards to take over planning and commissioning community health and social care.

Ministers quickly came under fire for the original NCS plans, which would dramatically reduce local councils’ role in the procurement and delivery of services, in what COSLA leaders branded  a ‘direct attack on localism’.

Today’s new agreement says councils will now retain responsibility for assets like buildings and the delivery of services within an NCS.

Social Care Minister Maree Todd says more information on the partnership between the Scottish government, local government and the NHS will soon be available:

“The Scottish government has been working closely with local government to find a consensus on the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, which will allow us to deliver on the urgent improvements needed to strengthen the delivery of integrated health and social care for people. 

“This partnership between the Scottish government, local government and the NHS helps establish where responsibility for people’s care will sit under the National Care Service.

“The detail of how this will work at a local level will be developed in the coming months and we will continue to update parliament on this work, along with the results of our ongoing co-design events taking place across the country, after the summer recess.”

The consensus follows last month’s Verity House agreement, which will see closer cooperation between Scottish government and local authorities in efforts towards net zero, tackling poverty and sustainable public services.

A “comfort” for the council workforce

Original proposals for the NCS contained provisions to allow Ministers to transfer health and social care functions from the NHS and councils to the new centrally controlled service.

Up to 75,000 council employees across social work and social care could be moved into employment under the NCS – plans which, according to UNISON Scotland Secretary Tracey Dalling, unions had not been consulted on.

COSLA, along with unions UNISON and Unite, warned Ministers that the proposals would have a negative and damaging impact on the cohesion of local government workforces, and risk staff  pensions and terms and conditions.

Now, Councillor Paul Kelly, COSLA’s Health and Social Care Spokesperson, welcomes this £first step" and says the new partnership agreement should offer “comfort and stability” to council workforces:

“Further improving the experiences of people accessing and working in social care and social work services must rest on an effective partnership between Scottish government and local government.

“Combining shared national accountability with local expertise ensures the right balance of further improvement across Scotland, whilst rightly reflecting the diverse needs of local communities.

“We know too that successful change is driven by the valuable staff who deliver services. We hope by setting out the continued role of local authorities in delivering social care and social work functions, and staff remaining employed within councils, we offer comfort and stability to the local government workforce.”

Scottish Care, whose members employ the majority of the 220,000 people who work in social care across Scotland, says ensuring equitable, fair and dignified terms and conditions for all staff is most important.

In response to today’s partnership announcements, the independent care provider representative says it is ‘critical’ that urgent changes to contracting and commissioning are now prioritised.

The first parliament vote on the Bill to establish a National Care Service is now delayed until at least January 2024, to allow Ministers time to further develop the proposals.

The Scottish government says the additional time “will mean we can have more direct engagement with people with lived experience, our workforce, unions and local government to make the Bill as robust as possible, and allows parliament time to consider the outcome of those discussions”.

It comes as Scottish think tank Common Weal – which led calls to pause the progress of the NCS Bill – sets out its vision for a reinvigorated co-design process with local democracy and empowered frontline staff at its heart.

The Scottish government says discussions about the NCS are now underway with trade unions.

Seven in-person and five digital NCS regional co-design events are still to take place later in the summer.

As today’s partnership is announced, Councillor Kelly says local government is committed to working for an inclusive new care system:

“In recognising this important first step, we know there is still more to do. As we progress forward, we are committed to continuing to work closely with people in receipt of support and partners to design a system that ensures individuals and communities always experience high quality care and support.”

 

Read more: Lack of evidence to back children’s services in NCS; National Care Service now delayed until 2024; Details of National Care Service revealed