Vote by MSPs on National Care Service delayed again

The first vote on the Scottish Government’s proposed National Care Service (NCS) has been delayed again.

A motion tabled by parliamentary business minister George Adam on Wednesday was passed by MSPs, moving the deadline for the first vote on the plans from the end of this month to March 1.

The Bill would centralise social care, making ministers ultimately responsible in a similar way as the NHS, with day-to-day management done by regional boards.

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane urged the Scottish Government to come up with a “realistic timetable” that would allow MSPs to vote on “a Bill we can read and not guess at”.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the Bill should be scrapped rather than delayed.

“The SNP wanted this legislation to be the centrepiece of Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy,” he said.

“What has emerged is a Frankenstein’s monster, threatening to cost billions and wrench away local control of care services.

“Rather than simply delaying this Bill again and again, it should be dismantled entirely.

“The money that has been and will be wasted on unnecessary bureaucracy should be spent on boosting pay and conditions for frontline care staff and ensuring that conditions for service users improve.

“That’s what social care services really need.”

Social care minister Maree Todd, speaking in Holyrood in favour of the motion, told MSPs change in the social care sector was “urgently needed” and described the Bill as “milestone legislation”.

She added: “We remain committed to delivering a National Care Service to improve quality, fairness and consistency of provision that meets individuals’ needs.

“We know that the social care system in Scotland needs to change and that our partners across the public sector, including local government and the NHS, agree.”

The legislation has been criticised for giving ministers more power, as well as the process by which the service is being designed.

Ministers have decided to pass a framework Bill to create the main structure of the service, while embarking on a process of co-design – involving speaking to stakeholders including the care sector, councils, patients and unions – to develop the detail of the service.

The details would subsequently be passed into law through secondary legislation.

Despite the Bill still being before Holyrood, the Scottish Government has pushed the implementation of the NCS from 2026 to 2029, saving £1.2 billion in the coming years.

The legislation has also been criticised for costing the Scottish Government £17.4 million in civil service time.

Ms Todd said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening: “The Scottish Parliament has decided to extend the Stage 1 deadline of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill to allow members further time to consider the information we provided in December 2023.

“We will continue to assist the Scottish Parliament by providing timely information as required to ensure the Stage 1 debate can take place by the new deadline of March 1.”