
The Scottish Government’s Minister for Social Care, Maree Todd, has given an update on the National Care Service (NCS) in a statement to the Scottish Parliament confirming that Part 1 of the Bill will be removed.
The Scottish Government will proceed with Part 2 and Part 3 only, the Minister repeatedly gave reassurances to stakeholders that she remained committed to the ambitions behind a National Care Service. The Minister outlined which specific provisions will remain, noting that core elements of Anne’s Law were in place through the Health and Social Care Standards and the Government is committed to enshrining the policy in primary legislation.
Other elements of the Bill that will be taken forward include an integrated, digital approach to information sharing and the introduction of a right to breaks for unpaid carers. The Scottish Government has also published a factsheet detailing how it plans to move forward with the National Care Service (NCS) in 2025 and beyond and plans to review current health and social care standards, and the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICe) has published a blog on developments to the NCS from September 2024 to January 2025.