Almost £30m already spent on National Care Service

Almost £30m has been spent on the Scottish government's National Care Service plans, it has been revealed.

It comes just days after councils withdrew support for proposed legislation in a major blow to ministers.

The government confirmed in a written answer to Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy that £28,730,224 had been spent on work related to the care service.

The Tories said taxpayers would be "astonished" by the figure.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said those who rely on the care system were "uppermost in our minds".

The Scottish government previously described the National Care Service Bill, which is currently passing through parliament, as the "biggest public service reform in Scotland since devolution".

Opposition parties have urged the SNP administration to pause or scrap the scheme.

They have criticised the government for tabling a so-called framework bill, which if passed by MSPs would allow ministers to set out the specifics of the service after the legislation is enacted.

The service, which would have centralised social care responsibility from councils to a new national service, was already delayed for three years due to cost saving measures.

The future of the care service was thrown into doubt on Friday after local authorities, which deliver frontline care, withdrew support for the bill.

Council body Cosla said its members had concerns about the proposed legislation and that several organisations - including those in the care sector - had expressed doubt over the government's approach.

Speaking in Holyrood, Health Secretary Neil Gray said he was disappointed with Cosla's decision but dismissed calls to pause or scrap the bill.

The minister said the government had already made "substantial changes" to the proposals at their request of local authorities.

"Uppermost in our minds and I am sure in theirs is the need of the people who rely on care services," he said.

"In that spirit we will continue to work with individual councils and, where they are willing, Cosla on those matters, as well as colleagues across the chamber."

Scottish Conservative deputy health spokeswoman Tess White said: "Enough is enough, the nationalists need to pull the plug on their unaffordable, centralised power grab which no-one supports, before a further penny of scarce resources is wasted.

"It's just common sense that every penny allocated to this flawed bill should be given to cash-strapped councils, who understand local care needs far better than SNP bureaucrats in Edinburgh."

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the bill "does nothing to improve social care just now".

The GMB and Unison unions also withdrew their support for the proposals earlier this month.

The service - a flagship policy of Nicola Sturgeon's government announced in 2021- was initially intended to be set up by 2026 at the cost of between £644m and £1.26bn.

However, ministers have delayed the proposed roll out to 2028-29 to avoid costs rising to an estimated £2.2bn.

The latest Scottish government figures show a decrease in the number of care homes and registered places, along with a record number of people stuck in hospital despite being well enough to leave.

The care home census showed almost one fifth of facilities had closed in the past decade, while the number of places dropped by 6%.

The average number of delayed discharges, according to Public Health Scotland, also hit an all time high in August at 2,000.