Social care in Scotland encompasses social work; care home services in the community for adults, children and young people; and services for young children, including nurseries and after-school care clubs.
The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill was published in June 2022.
It would allow Scottish Ministers to transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service.
[1] As of 2016[update] there are approximately 203,200 people employed within social services in the country.
The equivalent function is carried out by criminal justice social workers, who are part of local authorities' social work departments.