Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that the NHS and local authorities will share responsibility for elderly care, explaining that the reform is designed to end the practice of budgets being shunted between departments.

She confirmed that community health partnerships will be replaced by health and social care partnerships.

"Too many people are unnecessarily admitted to hospital or delayed there when they are clinically ready to leave hospital," Ms Sturgeon said.

"And for too many people, the experience of moving between health and social care services as their care needs change is not smooth enough."

Although Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie welcomed the proposed legislation, she insisted that Labour would have gone further.

"Our vision was for a national care service, as radical as the creation of the NHS, bringing fairness and raising standards in the provision of care," Ms Baillie explained.

She added that despite the government's insistence, not a great deal will actually change.