This briefing provides recent examples of where, how and why adult social care services have been returned in-house (‘insourced’) to be provided as public services rather than for profit. It includes examples from 2023-2024 of:
- contracts for home care services being taken back in-house
- residential care homes being purchased by councils and/or health boards
- investment in renewing, expanding and modernising in-house local authority care home provision
These are the three main routes towards developing the kind of National Care Service we need, one based on the principles of the NHS. UNISON believes the Scottish Government should have a National Insourcing Strategy to remove profit from care by supporting and resourcing local authorities, NHS Boards or IJBs to plan for the expansion of publicly owned provision through these routes. To read more see:
Towards a Real National Care Service for Scotland (summary)
Towards a Real National Care Service for Scotland (full report)