Health and Social Care Integration Partnerships: reporting guidance

1 What is this Guidance about?

1.1 Integration of health and social care is one of Scotland's major programmes of reform. At its heart health and social care integration is about ensuring that those who use services get the right care and support whatever their needs, at any point in their care journey. With a greater emphasis on community-based and more joined-up, anticipatory and preventative care, integration aims to improve care and support for those who use health and social care services.

1.2 The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 ("the 2014 Act") established the legislative framework for the integration of health and social care services in Scotland under either an Integration Joint Board or Lead Agency model. These new bodies have real power to drive change and manage approximately £8 billion of resources jointly that NHS boards and Councils previously managed separately.

1.3 Section 42 of the 2014 Act requires that Performance Reports are prepared by the "Integration Authority". This term broadly means the person or body which is responsible for the planning and direction of integrated health and social care services. Section 42 of the 2014 Act covers both the Integration Joint Board and Lead Agency model. However, 'Health and Social Care Partnership' (or in this context, simply 'Partnership') is in more common usage, and is the terminology used throughout this document to refer to the body with responsibility for preparing Performance Reports.

1.4 To ensure that performance is open and accountable, the 2014 Act obliges Partnerships to publish an annual performance report setting out an assessment of performance in planning and carrying out the integration functions for which they are responsible.

The purpose of the performance report is to provide an overview of performance in planning and carrying out integrated functions and is produced for the benefit of Partnerships and their communities.

1.5 The required content of the performance reports is set out in The Public Bodies (Joint Working)(Content of Performance Reports)(Scotland) Regulations 2014 This guidance should be read in conjunction with these regulations, and lays out the minimum expectations on the content of these reports, with particular reference to the reporting of the Core Integration Indicators to support assessment of performance in relation to the National Health and Wellbeing Outcomes.