LegalizeThe Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2025
Made: 4th December 2025
Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 8th December 2025
Coming into force: 7th January 2026
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 38(1) and 39(2) of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025[^f00001] and all other powers enabling them to do so.
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1
- (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 7 January 2026.
- (2) In these Regulations, “the Act” means the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.
Appointed days
2
- (1) 7 January 2026 is the day appointed for the coming into force of the provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of the table in Part 1 of the schedule (the subject matter of which is described in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that table).
- (2) Where a purpose is specified in column 3 of that table, the corresponding provision comes into force on 7 January 2026 for that purpose only.
- (3) 31 March 2026 is the day appointed for the coming into force of section 14 of the Act for all remaining purposes.
- (4) 1 April 2026 is the day appointed for the coming into force of the provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of the table in Part 2 of the schedule (the subject matter of which is described in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that table).
- (5) 30 April 2026 is the day appointed for the coming into force of section 36 of the Act.
Schedule — Appointed days
Part 1 — Provisions of the Act coming into force on 7 January 2026
| Column 1 (provision of the Act) | Column 2 (subject matter) | Column 3 (purpose) |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | Ministers to facilitate creation of records | |
| Section 9(1) and (2) | Adult carer support plan | |
| Section 10(1) and (2) | Young carer statement | |
| Section 11 | Minor modifications in relation to carers | |
| Section 13 | Promotion of support for carers | |
| Section 14 | Visits to or by care home residents | For all purposes, with the exception of the insertion of section 78G of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 [^f00002]. |
| Section 16 | Reserving the right to participate in procurement by type of organisation | |
| Section 18 | Ethical commissioning guidance | |
| Section 20 | Scottish Social Services Council’s power to require information | |
| Section 21 | Delegation of functions under Part 1 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 [^f00003] | |
| Section 22 | Cancellation of care service registration | |
| Section 23 | Assistance in inspections from Healthcare Improvement Scotland | |
| Section 24 | Provision of information by and to health care services | |
| Section 25 | National Chief Social Work Adviser and National Social Work Agency | |
| Section 33 | Fair work strategy | |
| Section 34 | Report on fair work |
Part 2 — Provisions of the Act coming into force on 1 April 2026
| Column 1 (provision of the Act) | Column 2 (subject matter) | |
|---|---|---|
| Section 31 | Report on social care market | |
| Section 32 | Power to obtain information for the purposes of section 31 |
Signed
TOM ARTHUR — Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers — 4th December 2025
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Explanatory Note
These Regulations bring various provisions of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (“the Act”) into force. The Bill for the Act received Royal Assent on 22 July 2025. By virtue of section 39(1) of the Act, both section 30 and the entirety of Part 3 of the Act came into force on the following day.
Regulation 2(1), read in conjunction with regulation 2(2) and the table in Part 1 of the schedule, appoints 7 January 2026 for the coming into force of sections 1, 9(1) and 9(2), 10(1) and 10(2), 11, 13, 14 (for all purposes, with the exception of the insertion of section 78G of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010), 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33 and 34. Regulation 2(3) appoints 31 March 2026 for the coming into force of section 14 of the Act for all remaining purposes. Regulation 2(4), read in conjunction with the table in Part 2 of the schedule, appoints 1 April 2026 for the coming into force of sections 31 and 32. Regulation 2(5) appoints 30 April 2026 for the coming into force of section 36.
Footnotes
[^f00001]: 2025 asp 9.
[^f00002]: 2010 asp 8.
[^f00003]: 2001 asp 8.
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