Findlay calls on Swinney to ditch National Care Service plans

The new Scottish Conservative leader has put pressure on the first minister to ditch plans to create a National Care Service (NCS).

Russell Findlay was making his debut as party leader at First Minister's Questions (FMQs), where he accused the Scottish government of having "wasted" £28m on the plans.

The NCS proposals would centralise adult social care and social work in Scotland, making ministers ultimately accountable for their delivery.

But criticism of the plans has increased in recent days after local authority body Cosla pulled support and it emerged that more than £28m had been spent on devising the service since 2021.

Trade unions have already withdrawn their support for the plans.

In his first appearance at FMQs since taking over as Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay urged John Swinney to abandon the scheme.

• FMQs - As it happened: Findlay challenge to Swinney

"The SNP's plans for a National Care Service have already wasted £28m of taxpayers' money," he said.

"Four parliamentary committees have warned about its flaws, NHS bosses have serious concerns, Scotland's council leaders have pulled their support.

"So why is the first minister pushing ahead with a plan that nobody seems to want?" he asked.

Swinney said there was a need for the NCS to ensure people can receive the "highest quality of support" regardless of where they lived in the country.

But he was challenged by Findlay over the number of care homes that have closed in the past decade.

Figures released this week showed that just under 20% had closed and delayed discharges from hospitals had hit a record high.

Swinney said: "It's for many of the reasons Mr Findlay puts to me that I support a National Care Service.

"I'm very, very concerned about the level of delayed discharge in our hospitals today.

"It has been the focus of significant attention from me as first minister and the health secretary and his ministerial team and those acting on our behalf," he added.

The first minister went on to say the difference in delayed discharge per 100,000 of the population is as much as 10 times between two local authorities, which he did not name.

"I ask myself why is there a position which is 10 times worse at the other end of the spectrum?" he said.

"That is unfair in this country, it needs to be addressed, and that is what a National Care Service will deliver."

Findlay said the figures quoted showed that delayed discharge was a "today problem".

He added: "It's classic SNP, wasting time and money, neglecting what people really need.

"Government ministers yet again grabbing power from local communities."

The money required to set up the NCS, he said, should be used to improve services right now.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also called on the first minister to "wake up to the reality" and "ditch" the NCS legislation.

Sarwar told MSPs: "The truth is that his plan is an absolute disaster. Workers don't want it, experts don't want it, and warnings have been ignored for years.

"The botched plans are just a powergrab that will waste money, won't improve care and won't address delayed discharge - which is a key factor in the NHS crisis."

He said Labour supported a "proper National Care Service", but with the SNP "no good idea survives their incompetence".

Arguing that plans for the NCS are in "disarray", Sarwar said the current government proposals were for "a National Care Service in name only" which would do "nothing to actually fix the problem, fund a single extra care worker or improve services".

He added: "The SNP's plans could now cost £2.2bn. Surely this money should be spent on care packages, additional care workers, better pay and conditions and actually reducing delayed discharge?"

Swinney insisted that was "precisely what the government is doing".

"The government has increased social care spending by 25%, which was our target and we have delivered that early," he said.

"Within the commitments we have made, we have increased social care expenditure so that care workers are paid more, which they are, so that we have more care workers employed, which we do, to make sure we can deliver that care."

He said the "rising demand" for care services was why delayed discharges in Scotland's hospitals remained "so high".

Cosla said it had been working closely with the Scottish government as part of its joint mission to reduce delayed discharges from hospital.

Spokesman Paul Kelly said: “The reality is, however, that local systems find themselves under significant financial pressure.

"In addition, they face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining staff. Different areas face their own unique challenges and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution."

He added: “We ask the Scottish government to consider the valuable feedback currently being provided by experts, care workers and partners on the investment and change required now to tackle our shared challenges.”

I’m not sure we learned very much new in the exchanges over the future of the National Care Service.

But perhaps deadlock is fitting for this topic, because it’s not at all clear where the plans go from here.

Council leaders have joined key unions and opposition parties in turning against the government’s proposals, which are currently being considered at Holyrood.

Given councils are crucial in delivering care on the ground, how can any system operate without their support?

Health Secretary Neil Gray has suggested he could work with individual councils – but a patchwork approach by definition doesn’t help to level the playing field.

And it doesn’t reflect the fact that even SNP-led councils have registered real concerns about the legislation currently on the table.

Some health boards and social care partnerships have pushed back too, as have some third-sector groups.

All of this comes at a time when ministers are incredibly short on cash, and on political capital too.

The government is looking increasingly isolated – and it remains unclear how they can build the bridges needed to actually deliver the National Care Service.