iStockScottish council leaders have voted to withdraw support for the Government’s revised national care service (NCS) bill due to concerns local authorities wouldn’t be able to cope with demand.
The legislation was initially introduced by the Scottish Government on June 20, 2022 and allowed for the transfer of a range of social care, social work and community health functions from local authorities to a new centralised body under the direction of ministers.
On July 12, 2023, both local councils and the Scottish Government announced a shared accountability partnership for delivering the service in an alternative way, with a new NCS board with a continued role for local decision-making and local government.
The revised bill is currently being considered at Holyrood.
The proposed revisions would continue to back key areas of reform, including enhanced support for unpaid carers, care home visitation rights and efforts to improve the experience of the social work and social care workforce.
Earlier this week, Unite the Union urged the Scottish Government to scrap the bill, saying it does not tackle the “prolonged crisis across the social services system”.
And on Friday, councils expressed concern that the amended bill currently does not reflect a model which they can support.
Local authority umbrella group COSLA said it cannot support the current bill.
Councillor Paul Kelly, the body’s health and social care spokesperson, said: “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.”
‘Final nail in the coffin’
The Scottish Liberal Democrats said the COSLA vote should be the “final nail in the coffin” for the policy, which it said was an “ill-fated power grab”.
Party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “It would wrench away control from local communities and completely fail to tackle the core problems in social care.
“Waiting for the wrong solution in 2029 isn’t going to fix the care crisis that thousands of families are struggling with right now.
“It’s why councils have followed frontline workers in withdrawing their support.
“My party is the only one to have opposed this legislation from day one. With purse strings tight it is madness to continue with a billion-pound bureaucracy that no one wants.
“Ministers must scrap it immediately and instead use the earmarked money to invest in frontline staff and services.”
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
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