Scottish Government accused of 'spin' over pay rise for care staff

The Scottish Government has been accused of "spin" over a pay rise for social care staff, as a care home boss said it was already planned.

Robert Kilgour, the CEO of Renaissance Care, said his firm had already informed staff they would be raising pay by 3.3% more than a week before the announcement was made by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman.

The Health Secretary said at a coronavirus briefing on Sunday that the increase in pay "will ensure all people providing adult social care receive the real living wage for every hour worked with immediate effect".READ MORE: 'Postcode lottery' for testing says Scottish care home boss

The move will be backdated to April 1.

Stock image. A care home worker helps an elder resident (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Mr Kilgour, speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland show, said: "My reading of this is that it's pure spin, frankly, from the Scottish Government.

"It's no new money as far as I can see.

"All they've done is announced what has been agreed on the annual pay award. It's always done on April 1 every year.

"We wrote to our staff about this pay increase on April 3 and backdated it to March 30.

"It was always going to happen and was always going to be this. This is not new."

Mr Kilgour accused the Scottish Government of trying to pass off a previous arrangement as a measure to help control coronavirus, adding: "All they've done is packaged and announced it as if it is new money."

The care home boss also claimed local authorities in England were "doing more than what we're getting in Scotland, definitely".

Mr Kilgour added that testing for coronavirus in social care staff and residents was a "postcode lottery".

However, the Scottish Government has repeatedly stated it does not routinely test people not admitted to hospital for the virus.