Meeting of the Parliament 29 February 2024
I think that everyone agrees on the critical importance of social care. It is a requirement for more and more people in society, and that will continue, due to demographic changes. It has an impact on the wider health system and its lack can be a potential blockage in relation to delayed discharge and many other aspects of the wider system. So, it is critical that we get this correct, and I welcome the Government’s focus on taking this work forward.
There is a commitment to provide long-term sustainable solutions to the challenges that we face not just in Scotland and the UK, but internationally, and to build on the work of the Feeley review, which lays out clearly the steps that need to be taken.
I suggest that everyone can agree with the general principles that are articulated in the bill as introduced, such as the recognition that spending on social care is an investment in society; the need for financial stability; the commitment to fair work; the human rights focus; the importance of dignity, equality and inclusion; and the commitment to co-design. I think that, so far, everyone can absolutely sign up to those principles.
It is unfortunate that too much of the recent debate on the bill has focused on process. It is important that we recognise that process is there for good reasons. It is there to ensure that we make good legislation that delivers on the principles that are clearly articulated in the bill. It is important to get that right.
It has been recognised in the debate that the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and other committees have identified uncertainties in the proposals that have been laid out, and significant changes have been made to the bill as introduced in order to arrive at the proposals that have been agreed with the Government, which the minister and COSLA have articulated over the past few months and which have been taken forward in the co-design process.
I very much welcome the provision by the minister and the Government of the target operating model, which came out in the past two days, and the fact sheet that was sent to MSPs alongside that.