The Scottish Government is improving social care support, social work and community health in Scotland.
We want everyone to have access to consistently high-quality social care support across Scotland, whenever they might need it.
We also want our social care workforce to flourish. Our goal is to future-proof the social care sector for generations to come - and for people coming into the profession.
That is why we’re introducing the National Care Service (NCS). It is being shaped by people who have experience of accessing and delivering social care support.
People and local communities are at the heart of our planning for a new NCS.
We’ve been hosting a series of in-person and online forums and events. These are part of our work to design the new NCS with people who receive or deliver social care, social work and community health support.
Each year we host a NCS National Forum. This is a chance for us to share updates on the progress of the NCS and hear people’s views and ideas. The Forum is open to everyone.
This year we will hold the NCS National Forum on 7 October 2024 at Glasgow Science Centre.
You can take part in the 2024 National Forum for free by:
You can find information about our 2023 NCS National Forum here. This includes a report about what happened at the event, and transcripts and videos of the speeches.
You can also read reports from our 2023 regional forums. These were smaller local events we held in different areas across Scotland.
Co-design means working together to understand, explore, and agree how the NCS should work.
As we continue to co-design the NCS, we’re committed to listening to the voices of experts.
These are people with experience of social care services, including:
There are also other easy read documents, which explain some of the most important ideas around the NCS and how it will work.