Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2022
I have a lot to get through, so I will not take Ms Baillie’s intervention.
We must reintroduce a focus on early intervention and prevention. We must limit the number of people who end up in crisis. People want and need quality services that are delivered at a time and by a method that best suits their needs and that builds on their strengths.
Last week, I met representatives from the Fife social work team and heard about its social work off the books initiative, which delivers in the Pathhead and Dysart areas of Kirkcaldy. That community approach aims to reduce crisis care. It is critical that we learn from existing good practice from across the country.
The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill sets out a framework for change. The detail relies on us all, including those of us here in the chamber today as well as those outwith it, working together.
We need to grasp the opportunity to deliver public service improvement together, to ensure that we are getting the detail right for everyone. Such an approach requires trust and confidence in each other and in the process. We need to recognise the implementation gaps between legislation and delivery that the independent review highlighted.
I have been honoured to chair the social covenant steering group over the past 12 months. It will be critical in holding us to account for maintaining the priority of the voices of lived experience in the design phase.
People confirmed to us that they are supportive of the proposals in last year’s consultation. The sooner we start, the sooner we can deliver better care support for everyone.
I move amendment S6M-06523.3, to leave out from “notes” to end and insert:
“that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the imperative for the National Care Service (NCS) to end the postcode lottery in the provision of adult social care; believes that there must be a rights-based, user-led approach to social care with consistent and fair access to high-quality care and support; further believes that the NCS should embed ethical commissioning that promotes fair work and climate change ambitions; recognises that the key consideration is how improvements are made for people who rely on the services of the NCS; welcomes that the NCS will be shaped by co-design and that services will be delivered locally; supports the creation, in line with the recommendation of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, of a system of national collective bargaining on pay, terms and conditions within the social care sector and for workforce representatives, such as trade unions, to be involved in the governance of the service, including through full membership of Local Care Boards; notes that, in establishing the NCS, including any transfer of financial resources from local authorities to reformed integration boards, the Scottish Government should take into consideration the impact on local authorities’ ability to resource and deliver other services; understands that the UK Government’s mismanagement of the economy has heaped more pressure on care providers who were already adversely affected by the consequences of Brexit, and recognises the importance of local authorities, health boards, and the Scottish Government working constructively together to deliver improvements to social care in the interim, while mitigating the impact of the UK Government’s actions.”
15:38Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.