National Care Service: business and regulatory impact assessment - easy read

National Care Service - Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

The Scottish Government do a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment when a new policy or law is being introduced.

The assessment checks how the new policy or law will affect people and organisations.

The National Care Service Bill makes Scottish Ministers responsible for social care services.

Ministers are already responsible for health care services.

Ministers will be able to create local care boards to decide how local health and social care services should be delivered.

The National Care Service Bill also says there will be:

• a Charter of rights
• clear and accessible ways for people to complain if they have worries about services
• a single care record so that people do not have to give their information more than once to different services

• changes in the way it is decided what services are needed and how they are put in place

The National Care Service will be designed and developed with people and organisations that get and give social care support.

We will do more Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments as the National Care Service develops.

Social care is an important part of people having their human rights.

It makes people’s wellbeing better – supporting them to feel comfortable, healthy and happy.

It supports families and carers.

Around 1 in 5 people in Scotland are involved in social care as:

• people who get social care services
• people caring for loved ones
• or people who work in social care services

Social care services employ a lot of people.

The changes set out in the Bill will affect:

• people who get social care and support
• unpaid carers
• people and organisations who give social care and support services
• local government and Health Boards
• people who make the rules about social care services

A review of Adult Social Care services told us that social care services need to change.

Having a National Care Service might cost the Scottish Government more money than doing nothing or making smaller changes to social care services.

There could also be extra costs and things that will affect local councils but we do not know what these are at the moment.

The Scottish Government will work with COSLA to check that people who get or give social care services are not affected in a bad way.

COSLA is an organisation that represents all local councils.

The same work will be done to check costs for health boards.

We do not think the changes set out in the Bill will have a financial cost now for:

• other organisations that provide public services
• businesses
• voluntary organisations
• or people

There could be extra costs or benefits for them in the future but we do not know what these are at the moment.

There are other ways of improving social care which do not involve creating a National Care Service:

• strengthen the use of self-directed support – where people have more choice and control over the support they get
• make sure social care support services follow Fair Work principles to make sure workers are treated fairly

• have more services that try to stop problems from happening or stop things from getting worse

Creating a National Care Service has more benefits.

It will:

• make it clear what organisations are responsible for delivering social care services
• set national standards so that people can get excellent social care services they can depend on, wherever they live in Scotland

• make sure social care services follow the national standards
• make sure services are designed and delivered locally
• work in a person-centred way that protects people’s human rights

• make sure services are planned and designed with people who get and give social care services

• have ways to make sure health and social care services work better together

• have a clear way for people to complain about services, backed up by a Charter of Rights
• ways to check if social care organisations are using money well so that problems can be found early

• ways to keep checking what services are needed and what can be provided to make sure people have social care services they can depend on

This will be a good thing for people who get and give social care support services and for unpaid carers.

It will also be good for Scotland.

These benefits are set out in the National Care Service Statement of Benefits.

The Bill also:

• gives a right to breaks from caring for adults and young carers who give unpaid care

• creates Anne's Law to make sure that people who live in adult care homes can have visits from people who are important to them to support their health and wellbeing

• has stronger rules for social care services so that people who get social care services:
  • are protected
  • have excellent social care services they can depend on

Rights to breaks from caring

The new law and extra funding for the right to breaks from caring will give more choice and more availability of short break services.

This could increase competition – businesses could reduce their charges so that they are chosen to provide the social care service.

Anne’s Law

Care home providers think Anne’s Law will not cost them extra money.

If there are a lot more Covid-19 infections or another infectious disease that spreads around the world, they may need to buy more things like protective gloves, masks and testing kits.

Stronger Rules for Social Care Services

There will be some extra costs for the Care Inspectorate.

They will have to make new guidance.

If more people make complaints about services the Care Inspectorate will have to investigate.

We do not think that there will be extra costs for making sure organisations follow the rules for:

• organisations that provide social care services
• local councils
• health boards or Integration Boards Authorities

The changes will help to make sure we can act more quickly when rules are not being followed.

These changes will increase the quality of social care services that people get.

It will help to make sure vulnerable people are safe.

No new forms for business will be needed because of the National Care Service Bill.

Forms and ways of working that we already have will be used for rights to breaks from caring and Anne’s Law.

The Bill will not affect:

• technology - machines, equipment and information
• ways of developing new technology
• the legal aid fund – this is money that can help pay for legal advice or representation in court if you cannot afford it

Scottish Ministers will publish regular reports about the National Care Service so that everyone can see that it is doing what the Bill says it should.

The Bill has been introduced to Parliament in June 2022.

We expect it to become law in the summer of 2023.

We expect there will be a National Care Service by the end of 2026.

We will keep listening to and working with people who get and give social care support to make sure we have an excellent National Care Service.