The annual Scottish Care at Home and Housing Support Conference & Exhibition is scheduled to take place on Friday 16 May 2025 at Radisson Blu in Glasgow. Organised and hosted by Scottish Care, the leading representative body for the independent social care sector, supporting providers, their workforce and individuals accessing care and support. This conference is the only national event to focus specifically on homecare in Scotland.

This year’s theme, ‘Compassion in Crisis’, will bring together over 200 key stakeholders from across the sector, including independent care providers, frontline staff, academics, local authorities, NHS, and Scottish Government representatives. The event aims to tackle the most pressing challenges facing care at home and housing support services and to spark critical conversations that shape the future of social care in Scotland.

• Dementia-inclusive resources
• The ‘home to assess’ model
• Technology and AI in care
• Medication safety and collaboration
• Workforce skills and qualifications

The conference will offer vital sector insight into the impact of increased Employee National Insurance Contributions and the UK Government’s proposal to scrap the social care visa route, alongside other key issues.

As part of the event, Scottish Care will launch an updated version of its Myth-Busting Report, which aims to dispel common misconceptions about the independent care sector. The report provides evidence-based insights into current sector pressures and highlights the reality facing providers and staff delivering vital services in communities across the country.

Key findings from the report include:  

• The independent sector delivers the majority of adult social care in Scotland, providing 87% of care homes, 86.9% of homecare services, 81.6% of all adult care services, and employing 76.7% of the sector workforce.
• The economic contribution of the adult social care sector is substantial, generating £5.2 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) – equivalent to 2.9% of Scotland’s total GVA in 2023.
• The independent care home sector now provides 90% of all registered places in Scotland, yet has seen a 34% decrease in residents since 2014, amid ongoing financial pressures and reduced public funding.
• No Scottish council met the minimum fair price of £26.50/hour for home care in 2023, despite the actual cost now standing at £32.88/hour, exacerbating financial unsustainability.
• 100% of surveyed providers in 2024 reported late payments over 30 days, with average amounts owed exceeding £300,000 per provider, threatening viability and continuity of care delivery.

In response to these findings, Scottish Care calls for urgent action to address the sustainability of the independent sector, including investment to alleviate funding shortfalls, an updated cost model for care home contracts, and a transparent minimum rate for homecare packages.

Karen Hedge, Deputy CEO of Scottish Care says:   

“This year’s theme, ‘Compassion in Crisis’ reflects the daily reality for many delivering and receiving care in Scotland. Despite relentless pressures, the sector continues to show extraordinary empathy, commitment, and professionalism. But compassion alone cannot sustain a system on the brink.  

Our updated Myth-Busting Report lays bare the challenges and misconceptions that hinder progress. It’s time to move beyond rhetoric and act decisively to protect and support the workforce and services that people depend on every day.”  

The day will conclude with a Care Awards Ceremony, hosted by Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus, recognising excellence in the independent homecare workforce. The conference, exhibition, and awards collectively form the largest national event of its kind dedicated to care at home and housing support in Scotland.

Read the Myth-Busting 2025 Report here

We’re thrilled to launch the first-ever Care Tech Assembly Awards 2025, celebrating the pioneers using technology to transform social care across Scotland.

These awards will recognise innovation, inclusivity, sustainability, and real, measurable impact — whether through creative solutions, ethical practices, or increased digital inclusion.

Award Categories:

1. Inclusive Tech Champion Award – For individuals or teams improving access to tech for marginalised groups.

2. Care Tech Innovation Award – For innovative technology or practice enhancing care and wellbeing.

3. Ethical and Green Tech Award – For responsible, sustainable use of tech benefiting citizens and communities.

4. Care Tech Integration Award – For organisations embedding care tech into everyday practice with measurable success.

📅 Awards Ceremony:
Winners will be announced during the Care Tech Assembly on Thursday 19 June 2025, at The Studio, Glasgow – a key gathering of tech innovators, care professionals, and policy leaders.

📢 The awards are open to both members and non-members of Scottish Care.

Nomination Deadline: Monday 19 May 2025, 5pm
Submit your nomination: https://scottishcare.org/care-tech-assembly-awards-2025/

Care Tech Assembly bookings are now open!

Join us for an inspiring day of innovation, networking, and future-focused discussion.

 Book your place: https://scottishcare.org/care-tech-assembly-2025/

Let’s come together to celebrate innovation, inclusion and impact in Scotland’s care tech sector.

Following January’s collapse of proposals to set up a National Care Service through legislation – and ongoing uncertainty about effective next steps – a new paper shares key thinking on the priorities for social care reform. Rooted in the vision set out in Derek Feeley’s highly regarded 2021 recommendations for social care reform, this paper has been developed by six membership organisations representing the interests of people supported by social care, unpaid carers and social care providers. CCPS, the Coalition of Carers, Glasgow Disability Alliance, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, Inclusion Scotland and Scottish Care want this contribution to help drive much-needed, long-promised reform with full cross-party support, now,  as the 2026 Scottish election approaches and in the next Parliament.

Download the paper

New Report Highlights Critical Barriers to Qualification for Scottish Social Care Workforce

Scottish Care has today launched (24 April 2025) its latest report, “Overcoming Qualification Barriers in Scottish Social Care: A Survey Analysis”. This publication, based on survey data from independent sector social care services, addresses the critical challenges faced by the sector regarding mandatory qualifications for its workforce.

Mandatory registration with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the requirement for staff in registered roles to achieve a mandatory qualification are legal stipulations widely supported by sector leaders for professionalisation and recognition of the workforce’s vital skills. However, the report highlights that sufficient resourcing from key policy and funding stakeholders has not aligned with the drive for full registration, resulting in substantial barriers to accessing and funding these qualifications.

The report highlights a worrying trend: a significant number of social care workers are considering leaving the sector specifically because of these qualification obstacles. This potential loss of experienced staff poses a serious threat to the sector’s stability, exacerbating existing vacancies and reducing the capacity of care organisations to deliver essential support services at a time of growing demand in both care home and care at home provision.

The report highlights SSSC data that 57% of home care workers and 54% of care home support workers are yet to achieve mandatory registration qualifications. If these large proportions of staff do not achieve their qualifications within the shortened three-year timeframe, they are unlikely to be able to continue in their roles, with massive implications for the workforce and the sector as a whole.

The report serves as a critical step in exploring the impact of registration and qualification requirements. While acknowledging the positive aspects of professional registration and the value of qualifications when they work effectively, it concludes that the current process presents extensive challenges for a diverse workforce.

Scottish Care is clear that registration is essential for safety and professionalism, but the associated qualifications must be a vehicle for acknowledging, validating, and celebrating skills, not an inhibitor to a career in care. The sustainability of care organisations and the journey of their staff depend on a qualification system that supports recruitment and retention.

The report calls for wider buy-in and partnership working among all stakeholders to build on areas of positivity and urgently resolve the worsening workforce crises in the sector .

Scottish Care calls on the Scottish Government and all key stakeholders to urgently invest in the social care workforce. As staff take on increasingly complex roles, they must be supported to gain and maintain essential qualifications. This requires sustainable funding, accessible training pathways, and long-term commitment. Without collective action, there is a serious risk of deepening the workforce crisis and compromising the quality and safety of care across Scotland.

The report is available here

Scottish Care Calls for Urgent Action on Social Care Funding Following IJB Finance Report

Scotland’s Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) are facing significant financial strain, with a new Audit Scotland report highlighting rising service costs, budget deficits, and a 40% drop in reserves. Nine IJBs now have no contingency funds, raising concerns over long-term sustainability. While most planned savings were achieved in 2023/24, many were one-off measures, meaning further budget adjustments will be needed.

Looking ahead, IJBs face a £457 million funding gap for 2024/25, underscoring the urgent need for realistic financial planning and collaboration. High turnover in leadership roles adds further uncertainty, while the report stresses the importance of transforming services through prevention and early intervention to manage growing demand.

Today’s report on the financial state of Scotland’s Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) makes for disturbing reading. It articulates a position of financial constraint and growing pressures which will be familiar to those who provide social care as well as those who access this support.

Scottish Care has long advocated for a fairer redistribution of health and social care funding, ensuring that the priorities of prevention and early intervention are actually achieved.

We welcome Audit Scotland’s clear assessment and support its call for a whole-system approach to prioritising preventative care and support.

Dr Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive of Scottish Care, said:

“In a situation of limited financial resources, we must allocate funding wisely to truly strengthen social care, primary care, and general practice. We simply cannot continue pouring yet more money into acute and secondary NHS care while at the same time bleeding and stripping out the care and support from social care organisations.

We need to stop people getting into hospital and then being delayed from getting back home – the way we do that is to invest in social care.

Whole-system reform, which includes all parts of the health and social care sector, is now time critical.”

You can read the report here: Integration Joint Boards’ Finance Bulletin 2023/24 | Audit Scotland