National Care Service plans are a distraction and must be paused – Cosla

Plans for Scotland’s National Care Service (NCS) are a “distraction” and should be put on pause, council leaders have said.

Cosla said the focus should be on properly resourcing care services rather than structural reform.

Ministers say the proposed NCS will be the most significant change in public services since the foundation of the NHS in the wake of the Second World War.

However organisations in the sector, including trade unions, have raised concerns about the plans.

Auditors have also said the final price tag for the NCS remains unclear, but the Government has denied there is a need to pause its implementation.

MSPs are expected to debate the general principles of a Bill to set up the NCS in March.

Cosla social care spokesman Paul Kelly renewed the local government body’s opposition to the plans on Wednesday.

He said: “It is inconceivable that the Scottish Government has put forward a budget that would see real-terms cuts to front-line care services, whilst proceeding with centralising structural reforms.

“Our communities, our dedicated front-line workforce and our vital public services deserve to be valued. Rhetoric must meet reality now; we cannot wait until 2026.

“Improvements to care could progress faster and with more impact if services were properly resourced and did not face the distraction of structural reform.

“Instead, we are presented with reorganisation and real-terms cuts, which will have a significant impact on the delivery of care.

“Ministers must invest in change now and pause their plans for structural re-organisation.”

Mr Stewart said: “The Scottish Government’s draft budget for 2023/24 increases funding for health and care services, including supporting the increase in pay for adult social care staff to at least match the real living wage.

“The National Care Service is the biggest public sector reform in Scotland since devolution. Our aim in delivering a National Care Service is to end the postcode lottery in care provision.

“We have a twin approach of delivering improvements now and working with people with lived experience to ensure the NCS better meets the needs of the people of Scotland long into the future.

“We have also committed to increasing adult social care funding by at least 25%, £840 million, by the end of the Parliament, helping to lay the groundwork for the National Care Service.”