Updates from our Policy and Practice Team – January 2026

Our evidence was essential in getting occupational therapy included in the Health and Social Care Committee's report on the first 1000 days of life. The report examines how early years support can improve long-term outcomes for children and families. 

We were invited to give evidence to the Committee last year. We're delighted they've engaged with what we presented and that they've highlighted the importance of early intervention and multidisciplinary working – areas where occupational therapists play a vital role in supporting development, family functioning and participation.

The Committee also recommends reviewing multidisciplinary team guidance so that allied health professionals are given appropriate prominence.  

A timely development

With SEND high on the political agenda and a Schools White Paper coming up this spring, this report strengthens the case for occupational therapy across early years, education, health and community settings. 

Restrictive equipment

Last month, we also published new guidance to support safe, ethical and consistent decision-making on the use of restrictive equipment with children and young people, responding to concerns about variation in practice and its impact on children’s rights, wellbeing and participation.

January saw further progress on the UK Government’s work and health agenda. This included the announcement of more funding for the WorkWell programme. This aims to support people to stay in work and return to work through joined-up, preventative approaches. 

This programme creates clear opportunities for occupational therapists to contribute expertise in functional assessment, workplace adjustment, vocational rehabilitation and enabling sustainable participation in employment. 

Milburn Review

Alongside this, we’ve submitted evidence to the Milburn Review on youth inactivity, highlighting the links between health, occupation and long-term engagement in education, training and work. We drew attention to the need for early, holistic support for young people at risk of economic inactivity.  

This manifesto is a key tool for influencing candidates and decision-makers over the coming months.

Read it, share it widely with candidates and local stakeholders and use it to support conversations about the value of occupational therapy.

You can explore the manifesto at rcot.co.uk/Scotland26.

The Scottish Government has now published its Budget for 2026–27, which includes significant investment – £22.5 billion – across health and social care. This includes £17.6 billion for NHS Boards and £2.3 billion for social care. 

The focus on strengthening community and primary care services, including:

• expanded Hospital at Home provision
• increased GP and community investment
• new walk-in clinics

... is likely to increase demand for occupational therapists. Those working in rehabilitation, discharge planning and enabling people to live safely and independently at home will be most affected. 

However, questions remain about what this funding will mean for services and the occupational therapy workforce.

Together with the Allied Health Professions Federation Scotland – of which I’m Policy Co-Chair –we'll be raising these issues directly with the Cabinet Secretary next month.

We’re looking forward to welcoming Gary to Scotland this week.

Over two busy days, he’ll meet members from across health, social care, independent practice and our universities. This will give him a real opportunity to hear first-hand about occupational therapy practice and priorities in Scotland. 

Our members have helped us shape a full and engaging programme, and we’ll be sharing updates from the visit on our social media channels. Keep an eye out to see what he gets up to on his first visit north of the border. 

If you’d like to connect with Gary yourself, there are plenty of opportunities to do so through his upcoming online member sessions.

Working with the Allied Health Professions Federation (AHPF) Cymru, we’ve been leading the calls for the Welsh Government to reopen the recruitment process for the Chief AHP Officer (CAHPO) in Wales. In the meantime, we also want them to appoint an interim CAHPO to ensure our voice isn’t lost during this time of change. 

As part of this, we launched an open letter campaign, calling on AHPs across Wales to sign the letter raising the vacancy with the First Minister directly.

Over 250 AHPs took part, and we submitted the letter at the beginning of January. We’re waiting for the response from the First Minister.

We worked with the Plaid Cymru health spokesperson, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, to raise the absence of a Welsh CAHPO in the Senedd. He asked the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care when the post would be advertised, who responded that ‘it is an important post’ but gave no information on when the post would be advertised or explained why there continues to be a delay. 

You can watch the exchange in the Senedd on our BlueSky account or AHPF Cymru’s LinkedIn page.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our survey on the future of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme. It was very interesting to read the range of opinions on what support the scheme should offer in the future.  

What came through strongly is the belief that all students, regardless of profession, who receive the bursary, should undertake the two-year work-in-Wales requirement after graduating.  

In our response we highlighted that the terms and conditions for the bursary and the promotion around it, do not make it clear that graduates can undertake the work-in-Wales aspect outside of the Welsh NHS. We would like to see greater awareness that OTs leaving university can work in local authorities, social care or independent practice and still meet the requirements of the bursary.  

On to the next consultation! 

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on their 10-year dementia strategy for Wales: 2026-2036. We’ve launched a survey for members to have their say. You can find all the details on the Wales RCOT Communities Network.

It was great to chat to members at our latest drop-in on Teams. We covered several topics including the Senedd elections and the new voting system, as well as how to promote best practice in Wales.   

Make sure to share your innovative solutions in our Innovation Hub.

Join us online for the next drop-in on Wednesday 8 April, 1-2pm.

Book your place

The consultation runs until Tuesday 3 March 2026. 

This is an important opportunity to ensure the voice of occupational therapy is reflected.

I would really welcome your thoughts on the priorities you feel matter most for the profession here in Northern Ireland. Please do get in touch with me via email so I can root our response in your experiences and expertise. 

We recently attended the latest meeting of the Community Rehabilitation Alliance, where we continued to push for a Rehabilitation Framework for Northern Ireland and for the appointment of a dedicated Departmental Lead to drive this agenda forward. 

The Alliance, which is a collaboration of professional bodies and charities, has now begun planning for the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) Conference in October, keeping rehabilitation on the radar of system leaders and policymakers. 

We also heard a presentation on the Neighbourhood Care Model, and we are exploring how this approach could strengthen our broader rehabilitation ambitions. 

As political parties begin to shape their priorities ahead of next year’s NI Assembly election, we’re monitoring the political landscape for opportunities to influence.

Over the coming weeks, I’m attending both the Sinn Féin and Alliance party conferences to hear from political representatives about their plans for health, social care and wider public service reform.

I'd love to hear from you! If there are issues or messages you feel we should be raising in these conversations, please do get in touch and share your thoughts. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped plan the visit. I look forward to sharing an update in next month’s Highlight.