Scotland's care system 'unsustainable' due to funding cuts, says Cosla chief

Pat Watters, president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), said the cost of meeting the needs of the ageing population was an urgent issue for councils amid expected falls in funding. He added: "Given that public finance cannot deliver these increases, it is clear that the current health and social care system is unsustainable."

The four major parties' health spokesmen will address the issue at Cosla's annual conference next week, according to a spokesman for the group. He said local authorities were expecting a 12 per cent reduction in funding over the next three years.

A recent Accounts Commission report revealed that local authorities had a total income of 17.4 billion in 2008-9, with 12.9bn of this coming from the Scottish Government.

Mr Watters said: "Looking ahead, we all recognise that the next two spending review periods are going to be extremely difficult for the whole of the public sector. All of the available forecasts leave little doubt that a real terms reduction to the Scottish Government's budget is coming and that local government will have its share of pain.

"These budget reductions are likely to continue over a number of years and require a longer-term strategy to balance the books. The conference will look at some of the issues facing us in relation to this period of real financial restraint."

First Minister Alex Salmond will address the "Change, Challenge and Opportunity" conference when it opens in St Andrews on Wednesday. Other speakers include finance secretary John Swinney, former racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart and former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy.

A Scottish Government spokesman responded to Mr Watters' claims last night, saying: "We are providing councils with increasing levels of funding and an increasing share of the total Scottish budget, despite the 521 million funding cut imposed by Westminster.

"The total available to local government in 2008-11 is 35bn – that is 4bn or a 12.9 per cent increase over 2005-8.

"It is for local authorities to manage and prioritise their own budgets, but this level of funding will enables councils to continue to invest in frontline services during the difficult economic climate."

Lindsay Scott, spokesman for Age Concern and Help the Aged in Scotland, said: "The recession has changed everyone's perspective and put a lot of restraints in place which wouldn't have been there previously, so we do need to act more quickly in making decisions on how older people are looked after."