CONTROVERSIAL plans to create a country-wide care service will be delayed, it has been announced.
The Scottish Government has said it intends to push back its plans to bring forward a bill to create a National Care Service (NCS) to “beyond June”.
In a letter to Holyrood’s health committee, Social Care Minister Maree Todd said she wanted to put brakes on the plans to allow the Government to address concerns about the bill and “to find compromise and reach consensus”.
She wrote: “This Government remains committed to delivering a National Care Service to improve quality, fairness and consistency of provision that meets individuals’ needs.
“The scale of this ambition will require the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill to progress in order to ensure sustainable social care services moving forward.
“We wish to use the time ahead of the stage one debate to find compromise and reach consensus with those who have raised concerns during the stage one scrutiny undertaken so far.
“As you note, the stage one debate is currently timetabled for the end of June. However, we see value in continuing engagement and co-design activities through summer before moving to the next stage of the bill.
“As you are aware, stage one deadlines for bills are agreed by Parliament. Therefore, it is my intention that the Minister for Parliamentary Business will seek Parliament’s approval, via the parliamentary Bureau, to extend the stage one deadline beyond June.”
Plans for the creation of an NCS are controversial with trade unions, opposition MSPs and members of the SNP calling for them to be paused to address concerns.
The Royal College of Nursing called for a pause earlier this month saying the plans lacked “fundamental detail” and said they were “expensive and disruptive”.
In a speech at the Scottish Trades Union Congress's annual conference in Dundee on Monday, First Minister Humza Yousaf said he was "determined to get the National Care Service absolutely right".
He said: "I am confident that by taking that little bit more time, we will be able to reach a compromise – where staff remain locally employed, with local co-design and delivery of services, but within a national framework.
"Clearly, that framework will need to ensure quality and consistency of care.
"It will need, and will have at its heart, fair work principles and sectoral bargaining. And it will need to promote ethical commissioning.
"The outcome of all this cannot be more care provider profits ending up in the Cayman Islands.
"So, rather than rushing it, I am determined to get the National Care Service absolutely right."
