Social care reform is essential for Scotland's future

Public service reform is an immediate and necessary priority of the new Scottish Parliament - not only to address the near £5bn funding gap forecast by 2029/30. but also to address a deficit in service quality and realisation of citizens’ rights.

By the end of this Parliament, a quarter of Scotland's population will be over 65, and the Scottish Fiscal Commission has highlighted the widening imbalance between the working age and retired population, from 3 older people for every 10 Scots aged 16-64 in 2022,  to 6 older people for every 10 working age Scots in 2072.

Social care reform is central to wider public service reform, requiring investment in fair work for the sector's 140,000-strong and over 80% female workforce, an intentional shift in spending from acute health settings to preventive community based social care, and a willingness from the sector itself to embrace change.

Fundamentally, respect and recognition of social care as a key growth sector in Scotland’s future economy is required, reflecting our country’s shifting demographics and the status of care as an essential “human service” in the age of AI.

Enable is a £100m charity whose 3,500-strong workforce supports over 15,000 people facing barriers to inclusion to exercise the right to live, work and participate in the communities of their choice through our three pillars - Enable Cares, Enable Works and Enable Communities.

 As a Scottish NGO with global networks and influence. Enable has seen the striking commonality of issues faced by care providers in Scotland, across Europe and internationally - and that NGOs must be at the heart of public service reform.

This creates an exciting opportunity for Scotland to lead the way in addressing those challenges, investing in proven models of human rights-driven self-directed support like the Enable PA Model, and laying the foundations for a social care system which truly delivers the right to independent living for this and future generations.