National Care Service: Scottish ministers urged to pause Bill as public sector bosses criticise 'lack of detail' over £1.2bn plans

Ministers have been urged to pause plans for the National Care Service as public sector bosses raised concerns they were only given details the day before the legislation was published.

The National Care Service Bill, which is making its way through the Scottish Parliament, would transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service, overseen by ministers.

Scottish Labour will today move an amendment in Holyrood calling on the Scottish Government to pause the National Care Service Bill.

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The party's social care spokesperson Paul O’Kane described the plans as “botched”, saying the SNP “cannot keep burying their heads in the sand as stakeholders queue up to slate this misguided and un-costed power grab”.

The National Care Service Bill, which is making its way through the Scottish Parliament, would transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service, overseen by ministersThe National Care Service Bill, which is making its way through the Scottish Parliament, would transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service, overseen by ministers
The National Care Service Bill, which is making its way through the Scottish Parliament, would transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service, overseen by ministers

Watchdog Audit Scotland has said the cost of the Scottish Government’s National Care Service could spiral well beyond the currently-forecasted £1.2 billion

“Social care in Scotland is on its knees – we need real support for the sector and a fair deal for its workers,” he said. “This must not wait for the delivery of a National Care Service – we need urgent action now.

“We cannot go ahead with plans that have not been thought through and are plagued by a litany of glaring problems.. The SNP must listen to these concerns, pause this Bill and take time to get it right.” Appearing at Holyrood’s health and social care committee on Tuesday, public sector bosses said they were “only made aware of the details of the Bill the day before the Bill was published”. They argued there had been a subsequent “lack of detail” given to local authorities.

Paul Kelly, health and care spokesperson for Cosla – the umbrella organisation that represents all of Scotland’s councils – told the committee: “Cosla were only made aware of the details of the Bill the day before the bill was published.” He added: “It’s very difficult for Cosla to give an opinion around co-design when there is such a lack of detail about what we are co-designing.

“It would have been far more helpful to have done that process well in advance because COSLA and other bodies do have a vision for radically changing social care and social work, but we’re not being given that opportunity to articulate it.”

The National Care Service legislation has already been criticised for “significantly understating” the potential costs by Audit Scotland, the country’s public sector spending watchdog. The watchdog has also highlighted a lack of detail in the costings of pensions, VAT changes, changes to capital investment costs and health board transition costs, which could lead to the overall budget skyrocketing.

When asked about the ability to scrutinise the proposals, Mr Kelly said “it’s very hard to scrutinise something when there’s a lack of detail”. He added: “When you’re talking about something as big and involved as the transfer of what is 75,000 staff, all the liabilities, the assets and everything that goes with it, it’s extremely substantial to not have proper detail

“I think that makes it very difficult and will make the job of all committees to properly look at it if you don’t have that detail”

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