MS, Minister for Children and
Social Care: On 14 December 2023, the then Deputy Minister for
Social Services, MS, announced the publication
of our National Care and Support Service (NCSS) Initial
Implementation Plan. This Plan was developed to take forward the
recommendations of the Expert Group—established during the
Co‑operation Agreement—to progress our shared ambition to create
a National Care and Support Service for Wales, free at the point
of need and delivered as a core public service.
The Initial Implementation Plan set out a clear, three‑stage
programme of work spanning a 10‑year period. Stage 1 covering the
initial years (2022–2025); Stage 2 will run from 2026–2028; and
Stage 3 will begin thereafter, from 2029 onwards. The Initial
Implementation Plan provides the foundation for transformative
change across our care and support system.
All activities and research committed to within Stage 1 have been
completed. Several pieces of work initiated during this period
now require further development, and these will be taken forward
as part of the Stage 2 Implementation Plan. Stage 2 also
introduces new areas of activity that align directly with the
Expert Group's recommendations.
A key achievement of Stage 1 has been the successful
establishment of the National Office for Care and Support (NOCS)
within the Welsh Government from April 2024 providing national
leadership and leading on our social care reform, coordinating
delivery and ensuring that progress has been grounded in
collaboration, evidence, and shared purpose.
Since its establishment the National Office has driven forward on
a number of significant developments in our journey to social
care reform which include the following:
- Establishment of the National Framework for Commissioning
Care and Support Code of Practice to drive transformation of
commissioning practices to focus on quality and ethical
commissioning practices
- Working with the Local Authorities development of social care
demand and capacity data and moving to publication of data on
Stats Wales from March 2026
- Supporting the workforce has been central:
- our starting point was the Real Living Wage, but we haven't
stopped there - we have established a social care workforce
partnership, the first of its kind in the UK
- through legislation we are enabling fair pay agreements and
establishing a social care pay negotiating body;
- we have established a role for the national advisory service
to help displaced overseas workers
- and we have committed £1.5million in new funding to support
the first phase of a national social care academy for
Wales.
Working in partnership with stakeholders across the sector—and
through meaningful co‑production with people who use care and
support services and their carers— the National office has
delivered 25 activities and undertaken areas of research. This
collaborative, participatory approach will continue into our
Stage 2 Implementation plan.
I am delighted to announce an update report and
Stage 2 implementation plan. I am pleased with the progress made
in the initial phase of our journey towards a National care and
support service. I hope you will join me in recognising the
significant progress made to date, and the considerable
achievements delivered through inclusive and collaborative
working across Wales. Together, we are laying the foundations for
a stronger, fairer, and sustainable National Care and Support
Service for the future.
