Question reference: S6W-17966
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 15 May 2023
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to decoupling the provisions related to Anne’s Law from the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill to allow them to progress on a faster timescale.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering Anne’s Law and the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will further support the rights of people living in adult care homes to connect with their loved ones.
The National care service will have a responsibility for planning services and setting standards, with Scottish Ministers being responsible for social care and support. The design and delivery of the National Care Service will have human rights embedded throughout, that everyone should have access to consistently high-quality care and support and it’s right that Anne’s Law is a part of that. We are not considering decoupling the Anne’s Law provisions.
However, we are also committed to doing what we can now to implement the aims of Anne’s law using existing powers. For example the Health and Social Care standards were updated in April 2022 along with the associated inspection framework for care homes. Public Health Scotland’s visiting guidance has also been updated to broaden the scope for visits even during an outbreak situation. Taken together, these measures have resulted in 99% of care homes in Scotland reporting that they are supporting indoor visiting. The Scottish Government, in anticipation of the Scottish Parliament passing the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, will work with all interested parties to maintain this figure and will also work to address any isolated issues should they emerge.