Social Care and human rights in Scotland

Continuing the conversation

There are lots of conversations happening in Scotland just now about what life will be like as we move on from Covid. Some of these are picking up issues that have been around for a  long time but now have a new context and a new urgency – including the conversation about the future of social care and the conversation about how people achieve their human rights when they face barriers.

For most people who use or want social care and their families these issues are – or should be – a single conversation.

The focus of the social care legislation is enabling people to have a good life: it is underpinned by principles that reflect human rights and the guidance refers to people’s human rights. The experience of people across Scotland is that too often this is not how the law is implemented, but it is what should be happening. The recent Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland drew on the experience and contributions of many people in Scotland.

Welcoming new narratives

The report includes a section on a Human Rights based approach to social care, and states:

“We need a new narrative for adult social care support that replaces crisis with prevention and wellbeing, burden with investment, competition with collaboration and variation with fairness and equity. We need a culture shift that values human rights, lived experience, co-production, mutuality and the common good.”  Introduction by Derek Feeley. Read the Independent Review of Adult Social Care report here.Social Care

Our human rights set out the outcomes for everyone and these fit with the types of outcomes people looking for social care say they want to achieve in their lives – being with family and friends, living in the place they think of as home, being part of their faith group and community.

Human Rights in Scots Law

The plans in the National Human Rights Leadership Report are for a new framework that will set out the rights belonging to everyone in Scotland – new human rights law, to bring more of our international human rights directly into Scots law.

“To fully realise the policy aspirations in this report will require a collective effort, from across the public sector and civil society, and this is vital to ensuring that we leave no one behind. “  Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Co-Chair of the National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership. Read the National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership report here.

The next Parliament in Scotland will see these reports being acted upon and there will be further conversations about the implementation.

We hope people will continue to have their own conversations too, continuing to talk about why the human rights of people looking for social care matters and what will make a difference.