10 June 2025

Social care reform bill’s conclusion “far from its original aspiration”

Ahead of today’s Stage 3 parliamentary debate on the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, we’ve published a briefing outlining our views on final amendments to the legislation

Ahead of today’s Stage 3 debate in parliament on the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, CCPS has published a briefing outlining its position on key, final amendments to the legislation.

Consideration of the legislation at this stage comes more than four years after publication of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, led by Derek Feeley, which set out an ambitious vision for social care reform that had widespread support.

However, following the Scottish Government’s decision in January to scrap the original version of the legislation – after a controversial passage through parliament – the re-named Bill is no longer underpinned by most of Feeley’s recommendations, including formation of a National Care Service.

Our briefing focuses on the amendments introduced by MSPs related to commissioning and Fair Work, both of which remain essential to effecting improvement.

However, CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett said:

“As the briefing makes clear, we are immensely disappointed that what was described as the biggest public sector reform of a generation is now a much more limited Bill.  A small number of important Stage 3 amendments are attempting to address key elements of a National Care Service otherwise completely lost in the renamed Bill, but this legislation falls far short of the aspirations for much needed change we all signed up to in the Feeley review.

“As a member of the new NCS Interim Advisory Board I have to hope that, with our partners, we can drive the fundamental changes to social care needed now outside of a legislative process that has taken three years. Feeley’s recommendations remain central to CCPS priorities for what comes next, as I know it does for many of our partners.”

In April CCPS,  the Coalition of Carers, Glasgow Disability Alliance, the Health and Social Care Alliance, Inclusion Scotland and Scottish Care, jointly published The National Care Service – Where Now?, a new paper arguing for a return to focus on Feeley’s recommendations including increased investment and clarity of purpose.

Click here to read the briefing

Click here to read The NCS – Where Now?

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28 April 2025

The National Care Service: Where Now?

Six sector membership organisations have joined together to produce a paper to help drive urgently needed reform of social care now, as the 2026 Scottish election approaches, and in the next Parliament

Following January’s collapse of proposals to set up a National Care Service through legislation – and ongoing uncertainty about effective next steps – a new paper shares key thinking on the priorities for social care reform.

Rooted in the vision set out in Derek Feeley’s highly regarded 2021 recommendations for social care reform, this paper has been developed by six membership organisations representing the interests of people supported by social care, unpaid carers and social care providers.

CCPS, the Coalition of Carers, Glasgow Disability Alliance, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, Inclusion Scotland and Scottish Care want this contribution to help drive much-needed, long-promised reform with full cross-party support now, as the 2026 Scottish election approaches, and in the next Parliament.

Download the paper

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14 November 2024

Through a glass darkly: the progress of a National Care Service

Our CEO Rachel Cackett responds to the latest news about the NCS Bill

Ah, the irony.

Today CCPS was to publish its proposals for amendments to the National Care Service Bill. It’s later than we’d have liked because it’d been hard to know what we are attempting to amend. Is it the Bill that was laid, which has been completely overtaken by events; or the proposals for an amended Bill, which the Government published in June – including a shared accountability agreement that has been blown out the water – but which can’t technically be amended, because it’s not an actual bill?

You see our dilemma?

But we’ve done our best because, if the Scottish Parliament has decided to take the Bill this far we have a duty to do all we can to make it work for our social care provider members, their staff and ultimately the people they support.

Then this morning the news broke: the Bill is scrapped… or perhaps bits of it are scrapped…. or perhaps none if it is scrapped but just delayed while it’s re-written again.

So here we are.

In the meantime, far too many people who need support can’t get it, providers are seeing budgets cut, and now we are staring into the face of catastrophic changes to Employers’ National Insurance Contributions.

Ever since Derek Feeley published the Independent Review of Adult Social Care we have been clear: our sector desperately needs reform and we will do all we can to collaborate with government and anyone else who can effect good change. CCPS members have the experience and expertise to help. It’s not always been easy to be heard.

But our commitment remains – and we will still publish our ideas on the Bill as a marker of the commitment (see links below) – but I now make a heartfelt plea.

We’ve been attempting to inform and improve this Bill for nearly three years while at the same time trying to support members through an ever-increasing real-time crisis. So, my plea is for clarity and a shared purpose across the political spectrum as we head towards the 2026 election.

There are many routes to positive reform – and an a much-improved NCS Bill may be one of them.

But either give us the timescales for legislative change and a space for our voice to shape collective reform, or look at alternatives to the current Bill and let us get on with those. Political wrangling, backroom deals and power-struggles for another 18 months won’t help the people who any NCS is meant to be for – the people across Scotland who really need well-resourced, rights-based, accessible, quality support.

Those of us trying to keep a woefully under-resourced sector afloat for the people who need it need more than the hope of reform; we need to know that something better is really coming our way.

Read our Briefing on Priority Areas of Focus for Amendments to the NCS Bill at Stage 2

Read our Thematic Assessment of the Alignment of Principles to Underpin a National Care Service

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12 July 2023

NCS agreement: “We need to shape the detail”

Responding to today’s announcement of an agreement between Scottish Government, local authorities and the NHS on the National Care Service, Rachel Cackett says that genuine partnership and participation is key

Responding to today’s announcement from the Scottish Government about an accountability agreement with CoSLA and the NHS on the National Care Service, Rachel Cackett, CEO of the Coalition of Care and Support Providers, said:

“We welcome the Scottish Government and CoSLA’s efforts to find ways of progressing social care reform.

“However, there is very little detail in today’s announcement about what has actually been agreed, and how it will work in practice.  We hope this won’t simply result in the status quo continuing.

“Social care providers – like many others – need to be involved in shaping the detail so that expert views and experiences are reflected in the final legislation and in the way much-needed reform is delivered.

“We look forward to working with the three parties involved in the agreement announced today, alongside all those with experience of social care, in a way that reflects genuine partnership and participation.”

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