“We urgently need the government to get to grips with the level of risk currently faced by providers and the people they support across Scotland”

Our CEO Rachel Cackett responds to today’s announcement in parliament that the National Care Service won’t go ahead as previously envisaged

“There is a crisis going on in social care right now and immediate action is needed – otherwise we won’t have a sector to reform.

Nothing else in today’s statement in parliament about the National Care Service reflected the reality of that crisis, and none of what was said changes the status quo.

We urgently need the Scottish Government to recognise and get to grips with the level of risk currently faced by providers and, by extension, the people they support across Scotland.

While we were pleased to see the commitments made on enshrining Anne’s Law and breaks for unpaid carers, we are frustrated that so much well-intentioned work on the NCS over the past three years appears to have been for nothing.

However, we remain committed to working with the Scottish Government on the reform that’s desperately needed. This can include collaborating with them on the shape and remit of the proposed Advisory Board.

But we need to see a change in culture whereby recommendations made by experts in the sector, in good faith, are acted upon and put into practice rather than overlooked.

The reform agenda, including on the vital issue of sectoral bargaining, must keep moving, driven by the innovative thinking and solutions of social care providers.

And on the political front, with the 2026 Scottish election in sight, all parties need to think hard about the solutions they can offer for social care.”