We are very pleased to welcome the report of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care. The recommendations clearly embrace the needs, rights and preferences of disabled people and their supporters. These align with the values that ILF Scotland has at its heart, and so we are delighted that this review highlights key areas for change.
We offer our gratitude and congratulations to the Chair of the Review, Derek Feeley, and to all members of the review panel. Completing such a comprehensive and complex review within a relatively tight timescale is never a straightforward task. Doing so with such widespread and genuine engagement, particularly in the midst of the COVID pandemic, has been a remarkable achievement.
There have been a number of calls in recent years, and especially during the pandemic, for the Independent Living Fund (ILF) to be re-opened to new applicants in Scotland. All of us at ILF Scotland appreciate the vote of confidence in our organisation that these calls signify. We are grateful to Mr Feeley for listening to these calls; for meeting with us a number of times during the review; and for taking the time to consider the ILF model and what it may have to offer within the wider context of a National Care Service.
We are, of course, particularly pleased to see such positive reference to ILF Scotland in the review report, which recognises both the important role our organisation plays today, and our potential future role as an integral part of a National Care Service. Subject to the Scottish Government’s response to this wide ranging review, we stand ready to play our part in the implementation of the review recommendations, and the realisation of its stated purpose, which is shared by ILF Scotland, that:
“Everyone in Scotland will get the social care support they need to live their lives as they choose and to be active citizens. We will all work together to promote and ensure human rights, wellbeing, independent living and equity.”
Susan Douglas-Scott CBE
Chair of the Board
Peter Scott OBE
CEO
You can read the full report and findings of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland here.
