The Draft Scottish Learning and Improvement Framework for Adult Social Care Support and Community Health (SLIF) has been developed in response to recommendations from the Independent Review of Adult Social Care published in 2021 and commitments made in the Joint Statement of Intent between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
“The Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework” (SRF) published in June 2025 highlights the shared ambition of between Scottish Government and Local Government is to ensure people of all ages are able to live well, with the right support, and to lead healthier and more fulfilling lives. Implementing the changes set out in the SRF will bring significant, positive improvements to how people in Scotland experience health and social care. The “Draft Scottish Learning and Improvement Framework for Adult Social Care Support and Community Health” SLIF is part of this vital work. By setting out the vision and priorities for improvement that have been agreed across the health and social care sector and supporting an approach which further builds improvement and quality management into the system, the SLIF will ensure we are capturing learning and working towards the same agreed outcomes.
The framework has been co-produced with a multi-agency Steering Group, chaired by The Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE and the NHS. Informed by the voice of people with lived and living experience who set how improvement would be measured by the outcomes that mattered most to them when they engaged with adult social care support, social work, and community health services. A human right approach has been taken in developing the SLIF and has embedded the PANEL principles. This approach is about making sure that people's rights are put at the very centre of policies and practices. The PANEL principles are central to this approach and provide a practical guide for implementation.
The SLIF has been developed during a period of ongoing reform in health, social care and social work. This wider reform landscape includes development of the Primary Care and Community Health Route Map, the development of a National Social Work Agency, and in social care, the Advisory Board for the National Care Service. It is an iterative framework that will be reviewed and developed to support local and national improvement activity and will take into account this wider reform to both shape and be reflected in further versions Recent work has concentrated on the operationalisation of the SLIF. This has been completed with our stakeholders to move the framework from a strategic document to one that can be used in services. More detail on the operationalisation and testing phase will be available in the first quarter of next year.