Social care includes support for people with physical disability, learning disabilities or mental health conditions, older people and those with dementia, people with or recovering from alcohol or drug addictions, those who have been or are at risk of being homeless, children and families who may need additional support, or children who are unable to live with their own families.

The proposed reforms around social care represent one of the most significant pieces of public service reform to be proposed by the Scottish Government, and have the potential to be the biggest public sector reform in Scotland for decades.

The implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC), and particularly the establishment of a National Care Service (NCS), is an opportunity to address some of the challenges across social care highlighted before and during the pandemic.

This is an opportunity to change the way we deliver support and services - to place human rights at the centre of our decision making; shift our emphasis to prevention; empower people to engage positively with their own care; embed fair work and ethical commissioning; and strengthen our commitment to integrating social care with community healthcare, which was last legislated for in 2014.