The core principles behind adult social care in Scotland is not that different from England, Wales or Northern Ireland, but the regulatory body and how it judges compliance is. The central concept behind the provision of care is high quality services that promotes and protects the rights of the service user.
The Care Inspectorate, or more formally Social Care and Social Working Improvement Scotland, is an independent regulator which judges the quality of care based on the National Care Standards. These standards explicitly state what constitutes good care.