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The new Scottish parliament convened on 12 May 1999 and took up its full legislative powers that July.

Its impact since then has been extraordinary, according to statutory and voluntary organisations in Scotland.

In its first term it introduced a raft of community care legislation. Seizing the opportunity to stamp community care on the agenda, the new members of the Scottish parliament consulted a representative group of key stakeholders, including the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW), housing agencies and Community Care Providers Scotland.


The group was pleasantly surprised. It was clear from the outset that the intention of the parliament was to concentrate on social care and put into place far-reaching legislation that hitherto Westminster had failed to implement.

The leap from 72 MPs in London to 129 MSPs in Edinburgh heralded greater accessibility and a more transparent system of government for Scotland.

Previously, ministers who had devoted much of their time to UK matters were now able to concentrate on Scotland.

True, some matters are still the preserve of Westminster. This was evident recently in the row over the detention of children in the Dungavel immigration centre near Strathaven. On the basis that matters of immigration lie with the UK government, Scotland's first minister, Jack McConnell, maintained a resolute silence on the matter, to the surprise of many. By now familiar with being in charge of their own agenda, it seemed odd to defer to Whitehall in matters of social care once again.

Political parties in Scotland set out their manifestos only after full consultation with local authorities, the public sector and the unions. There is now much more interaction between these organisations and the Scottish parliament than before devolution, which in turn allows more scope for legislation. And devolution has brought much more legislation.

Previously, there were one or two wholly Scottish pieces of legislation each year going through Westminster. Now there are between 20 and 30 bills each year. Quantity cannot always make up for quality but few would argue this is not an improvement and the new legislation has had an impact.

A minister for health and community care was created immediately and new legislation, including the Adults with Incapacity Act 2000, Regulation of Care Act 2001 and the Community Care and Health Act 2002, quickly followed.

Annie Gunner, co-ordinator of Community Care Providers Scotland, supports the executive making community care one its main priorities. "It was extraordinary. The process was accessible," she says. "We were invited to give evidence and there was a willingness on the part of the various parliamentary committees and the executive to engage with us."

Professor Paul Spicker, of the Centre for Public Policy and Management at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, says new legislation was needed because Scotland was trailing England in the development of community care.

In particular, this criticism related to older people and the provision of private residential care. Private sector provision bloomed while regulation and inspection proved ineffective at weeding out unsuitable providers.

The new Care Commission, created under the Regulation of Care Act, was one among a number of new regulatory bodies brought in by Scottish legislation.

Mike Rumbles MSP, the Liberal Democrats spokesperson for health and community care, says devolution has had a dramatic effect on social care. He cites the introduction of free personal care for older people as one issue that has had a significant impact.

A new working group involving public, voluntary and private providers is looking at anomalies in funding for residential care in Scotland. A report is due in the autumn into the true cost of care.

More recently, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats have included an antisocial behaviour bill in their manifestos. After a consultation paper was produced last June, meetings were held throughout Scotland during the summer involving the first minister and the ministers for communities and justice. The bill is planned to be introduced by the end of this month, after which voluntary organisations, statutory bodies and local authorities will be invited to give evidence to the executive.


Given that Scotland has had the children's hearing system for the past 30 years it will be interesting to watch the progress of the bill through parliament.

Kingsley Thomas, executive member for health and social work at Edinburgh Council, agrees that there has been a huge focus on social care and social work issues during the first four years of devolution. This is set to continue in to the second term with an emphasis on youth justice, the health service review and, more recently, new child protection legislation in the form of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003.

Thomas says, although the focus on social care can be seen as positive, it has placed strains and pressures on local authorities, health care providers and voluntary organisations to keep up with the rate of change and service delivery. This has come at a time when there is a national focus on the recruitment and retention of staff in social work and health. It is accepted that these shortages would have occurred irrespective of legislative change. But the pain is all the more acute for its timing.

Devolution has, however, seen a complex relationship develop between the executive and councils.

A British Association of Social Workers Scotland spokesperson says local government has had to rise to the challenge of the legislative agenda laid down by the Scottish parliament. She adds: "The executive needs to listen to local authorities who have experience of providing good quality services in the field of statutory responsibility and social care. Criminal justice social work services are a prime example of this." Thomas agrees and says there is "still scope for development" in the relationship between the executive and local authorities.

The voluntary sector is also being used as a source for information by MSPs and the executive, according to Scottish Association for Mental Health director of policy Richard Norris. In turn, he says, this has led to a huge increase in demand on services from the public and voluntary sector: "Partnership working has become more successful in recent years. The establishment of a Scottish parliament has undoubtedly led to increased political and media scrutiny of social care and health services."

The new Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is an example of increased partnership working between the Scottish statutory and voluntary sectors. ADSW president Duncan MacAulay says the new act represents "the most positive aspects" of having a Scottish parliament, which is "closer to the issues Scottish people care about".

He adds: "Parliament has demonstrated its commitment to involving a range of stakeholders. As a result of the involvement and consultation of mental health services users, carers and professionals the new act is a highly progressive piece of legislation."

Devolution has led to Scotland having direct political control over and democratic accountability on social care matters. However, cynics argue this was because the new MSPs had to learn quickly about what mattered.

The prime example of where Scotland has forged ahead over the rest of the UK was in the care of older people. New legislation has pushed full-speed ahead, leaving some care providers running to keep up.

So what is the future of social care in a devolved Scotland? Spicker says: "It is difficult to know what direction we are heading with issues of social care; much of it is untested. We are heading for interesting times."