National Care Service: workforce charter summary of co-design findings

What's next

What's next for the workforce charter

We will continue to engage with representatives of the workforce, trade unions, local authorities, and COSLA. We will explore with them if and how a workforce charter could benefit the workforce.

We will also continue to work with our stakeholder advisory group to support regular discussions with a range of workforce representatives.

Co-design of a workforce charter is not complete. It will run alongside co-design of the National Care Service until it launches. This will maximise opportunities for people with lived experience of accessing and delivering support to influence and further develop a workforce charter.

We will continue to consider the relationship between:

• a National Care Service workforce charter
• the NCS Charter of Rights
• other policies, guidance and legislation relating to workforce

To do this we will work closely with our internal Scottish Government colleagues and professional advisors. This includes colleagues working within the National Care Service programme, health workforce teams, and beyond.

We will create prototypes of a workforce charter to aide discussions during the next phase of co-design. During this phase, we will test the prototypes with people to see what they think would be achievable and which would benefit them.

What's next for the National Care Service

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering a National Care Service to improve quality, fairness and consistency of provision that meets individuals' needs. We are also working to make improvements to the social care system now.

The National Care Service Bill passed Stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament in February 2024. This stage is where MSPs decide whether they agree with the general principles of the Bill by:

• hearing views,
• writing reports of what they have heard,
• voting on whether the Bill should go on to the next stage.

The Bill is now at Stage 2. This is where MSPs can make changes (called amendments in Parliament) to the Bill.

We will continue with engagement and co-design as the Bill progresses through Parliament. This commitment will continue throughout the establishment of the National Care Service.

We will be doing additional work with people from groups we know are currently underrepresented in our work so far.

In the meantime, we will continue to drive forward improvements across the social care sector, including improving terms and conditions for our valued workforce - making it an attractive profession and bringing even more talent into the sector.

Getting involved

We want to hear from as many voices as possible as we shape and develop the new National Care Service (NCS). If you'd like to share your experience or views, you can join our Lived Experience Expert Panel. If you join the panel, you'll be invited to take part in different things like:

• surveys
• interviews
• helping come up with ideas about what the NCS could look like
• helping us understand what our research is telling us
• helping us make sure we're designing the NCS to meet everyone's needs

For more information about the National Care Service, visit gov.scot/ncs