National Care Service: Factsheet

How the NCS will be organised

Two structures will be very important in the NCS.

One will be the NCS Board which will operate at a national level.

The other will be NCS local boards, with responsibility at local level.

NCS Board

The NCS Board will:

• provide national oversight and governance of community health, social work and social care support services
• ensure these services are consistent, fair, and rights-based
• support communities to maximise the benefits of reformed local delivery of services

The Board will have oversight of standards, guidance, and performance metrics. These will include an agreed support and improvement framework. If services do not meet standards, the framework will support local integration authorities to improve.

The Board will include representatives of the Scottish Government, local government and the NHS. It will also include people with experience of accessing services, unpaid carers and the workforce. Further detail relating to the membership will be co-designed. This will include exploring topics such as the support board members would need to make sure they can all take part on equal terms.

NCS local boards

Current local organisations, known as integration authorities, will continue to plan and commission community health, social work and social care support services. These organisations will be renamed to NCS local boards and will be reformed to improve how they function.

Local government, NHS and other local providers will continue to deliver services. However, the way they operate will be directed by the NCS local boards and guided nationally by the NCS Board. This will ensure all services follow a consistent human rights-based approach.

NCS local boards will continue to work with all organisations providing services in the area. Simpler governance processes will help people understand decisions about local services.

Right now, local integration authorities receive funding through local government and the NHS. We will keep this funding route in place. But we are also exploring giving Scottish Ministers the ability to directly fund NCS local boards for specific reasons.

Co-design and NCS local boards

NCS local boards will plan services with the people who receive and deliver them. People with experience of accessing or delivering services will sit on NCS local boards. They will have voting rights and receive support and training for their roles.

Engagement within local areas will be strengthened and communities will have the opportunity to say how services should be designed.

NCS local boards will continue to carry out long-term planning. They will identify the best use of resources to meet future needs within their area. People with experience of accessing or delivering community health, social work and social care support services will be given a more prominent role in co-designing this vision.

This planning will be overseen and supported by the NCS Board. This will ensure plans are consistent with the NCS principles. We want everyone in Scotland to receive the same standard of care, wherever they live.