Dawn Bowden MS, Minister for Children and Social Care
On 14 December 2023, the then Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan 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.