Community care and the single outcome agreement in Scotland: a driver or barrier to better outcomes?

This article will examine the potential gap between the rhetoric of reducing bureaucracy to achieve better outcomes for individuals, and the reality for community care in the framework of the introduction of a single reporting system focused on a Single Outcome Agreement (SOA), developed between local and central government in Scotland. The article will provide a description of current arrangements in Scotland and draw on a major analysis of all 32 08/09 SOAs conducted by Community Care Providers Scotland to examine whether or not this framework could be a driver or barrier to better outcomes