National Care Service

[1][2] The Labour Party has continued to propose the creation of an NCS while in opposition, and has done so under each consecutive leader since Ed Miliband's leadership in 2010.

[12] Publicly funded social care is also offered to some adults with "long-term complex health needs" through the NHS continuing healthcare scheme.

[13] A "National Care Service" was first proposed in the later stages of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour government.

[18] The Act was passed by parliament in April 2010,[19] with the NCS being launched a month earlier by Health Secretary Andy Burnham, giving all elderly and disabled people free social care.

[23] In opposition, the Labour Party under the leadership of Ed Miliband (2010–2015) continued calling for the introduction of an NCS that would give elderly and disabled people free social care.

[2] It is also supported by leader Keir Starmer (2020–present), who is planning to introduce it as a needs-based, locally delivered system should Labour enter government.

[34] The devolved Labour-led government of Wales explored options for a Welsh NCS as part of its 2021 cooperation agreement with Plaid Cymru,[4] with a plan for its implementation expected by the end of 2023.

[44][45] Health Secretary Jeane Freeman accepted the recommendation[46] and the SNP promised to introduce the NCS as a "top priority" in government in its manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, alongside the introduction of a national wage for care staff.

Scottish Labour called the SNP's plans to introduce the NCS "the biggest power grab in the history of Holyrood",[53] with deputy leader Jackie Baillie claiming that it would endanger local authorities, adding that it was "not a National Care Service" but a "national commissioning service which can be used as a fig leaf for centralising power".

Trade unions GMB,[55] Unison and Unite are also concerned about the centralisation of power away from local authorities that would be caused by the service, while the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is currently taking "the time and consideration that is rightfully needed with legislation of this magnitude, to understand the breadth of the impact it will have on communities the length and breadth of Scotland".