SNP Government national care service plans in crisis after council leaders withdraw support

Council chiefs have voted to withdraw support for the SNP Government's national care service, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the troubled bill. Local authority leaders ended their “shared accountability” deal on Friday.

The Government plan involves a huge shake up of the care sector in order to harmonise standards and wages. Critics say the proposals are a power grab from councils and trade unions are also concerned.

Ministers tried to rewrite the bill and they reached a consensus with council umbrella group COSLA in 2023 around ‘shared accountability’ for NCS reform.

However, a COSLA meeting of council leaders voted 18-14 to withdraw support. A source said SNP leaders wanted to delay a decision on withdrawal and seek an urgent meeting with Health Secretary Neil Gray.

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COSLA’s Health & Social Care Spokesperson, Paul Kelly, said: “Local Government cannot support the amended National Care Service Bill brought forward by Scottish Government.

“Local Government has been committed to working in partnership with the Scottish Government to develop proposals to deliver a National Care Service, but unfortunately the revised legislation does not effectively represent that partnership.

“Local Government is committed to continuing our engagement with key areas of reform which can deliver improved outcomes for people, unpaid carers and our workforce. We cannot, however, offer our support for the legislation brought forward at this stage”

“It is important that the views of people accessing, working in and planning front-line support services are listened to, both with regards to the NCS legislation and also the improvements needed to overcome the sustained financial and workforce pressures being experienced across Scotland.”

A COSLA paper had accused the Government of a lack of progress on reform.

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: “This significant intervention by council leaders underlines the flaws in this botched SNP plan.

“Scottish Labour will not sign a blank cheque for SNP incompetence that could expose the public purse to eye-watering costs – that is why we voted against this flawed Bill at Stage 1. It now seems that many of the key stakeholders believe that the legislation is so flawed it should not proceed.

“Social care in Scotland is at breaking point, but the SNP’s plans will deliver a National Care Service in name only – it will not fund a single extra care worker, nor will it fix any of the fundamental issues in our social care sector."

The GMB and Unison trade unions have also called for the bill to be withdrawn. Unison Scotland regional manager Simon Macfarlane said recently: “As it stands, those in need of care, their families and the workers in the sector are all set to be failed by this Bill.

“Even at this advanced stage, the Government is unable to explain what it will do or how, and what improvements will be made. The Bill should be scrapped and the focus moved to delivering commitments such as funding fair work and sectoral bargaining.”

Social Care Minister Maree Todd said: “Creating the National Care Service is about improving people’s lives and ensuring consistency of care across Scotland.

“It is extremely disappointing that some COSLA leaders have chosen to frustrate progress on one of the key recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

“We have been in detailed negotiations with local government for almost two years and have listened to and acted on their concerns. While there are some areas that are still contentious, walking away from this vital reform shows total disregard for the people we all serve.

“We remain open to working constructively with local government through continued progress on the National Care Service Bill. We should all want to address the concerns of people who use community health and social care and the staff who provide it.”

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