Fiona Duncan: One Question and One Question Only - will it #KeepThePromise?

Today, the Scottish Government launches a 12-week consultation on the creation of the National Care Service - NCS.

It includes the proposal “that children’s social work and social care services should be located within the NCS to ensure a more cohesive integration of health, social work, and social care.”

The outcome of this consultation could result in the creation of one single care service.

If that is the direction the Scottish Government chooses to go in, it will have huge implications for how the promise, made last February to children and families, is kept.

Over the consultation period, the single question The Promise Scotland has to answer is: will the creation of The National Care Service make it more or less likely that the promise will be kept in full by 2030?

The Promise Scotland’s independence allows it to consider this solely from the position of what will best keep the promise – as with all the work it has undertaken. Services must work for the children and families who need them and their voices, that were the cornerstone of the Independent Care Review, must continue to be held at the centre of next steps and decision making.

Whilst working for fundamental, systemic change, The Promise Scotland has always been clear that what can change now, must change now. Work is already underway to make sure that the experiences and outcomes of children and families that come into contact with Scotland’s ‘care system’ are the best they can be. That work is still urgent and necessary and will not be derailed.

Over the coming twelve weeks, The Promise Scotland will reflect on the opportunities, risks and challenges that the National Care Service brings, to inform its response to the consultation.

About the author

Photo credit: Sarah Maclean

Fiona Duncan

Independent Strategic Advisor

Fiona Duncan is the Independent Strategic Advisor on the promise, and advises Scottish Ministers in this capacity.