‘Price tag’ of National Care Service not clear, MSPs told

The “price tag” for parts of the planned National Care Service is unclear and likely to include hidden costs, MSPs have been told.

Audit Scotland told a Holyrood committee the costs set out in a recent financial memorandum from the Scottish Government “significantly understate” the range of what could be needed.

The Finance Committee heard evidence from the spending watchdog and other experts on Tuesday, discussing the memorandum for the National Care Service Bill.

MSPs on the committee have already raised concerns that it does not provide certainty or value for money.

By 2026, annual costs for provisions of the Bill are estimated to be between £240 million and £527 million.

Audit Scotland’s Mark Taylor said lessons should be learned from the creation of other new services like Social Security Scotland.

He told the committee: “I think those same lessons need to be applied in this case.

“Government needs to be able to be much clearer, at a much earlier stage about its financial plans.”

Responding to a question from the SNP’s Michelle Thomson, he said the purpose of the National Care Service was to improve standards and consistency.

He said: “What’s not clear, and understandably so, is the price tag that will ultimately be associated with that.

“If that is to be levelling up – to use that politically loaded phrase – if it’s about areas where the quality and consistency of the service falls below a certain standard, does that have a price tag attached to it?”

He added: “What’s the price tag, what’s the cost associated with that service redesign?

“I understand at this stage of the process that it’s very difficult to get a sense of that, but that’s the hidden cost here.”

More clarity on this from the Government would be increasingly important, he said.

Written evidence from Audit Scotland said the financial memorandum is “likely to significantly understate” the range of costs from the Bill, partly due to using outdated assumptions about inflation in the coming years.

Emma Congreve, of the Fraser of Allander Institute, said her organisation had required additional information from the Government in order to produce their own analysis.

She said: “I think what comes across most is a large amount of money will need to be spent on the set-up of the National Care Service, which is what the Bill is about.

“And there’s a lot of uncertainty within that number, there’s a big range in terms of the recurring costs even once it’s been set up.”