Representatives of Scotland’s main parties are divided on whether care workers should get a 4% pay rise to match NHS staff, with some saying they should be offered more and others saying only that collective bargaining needs to be introduced in the sector.

Speaking at a pre-election hustings organised by the Alliance and the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland, MSPs also disagreed on whether a national care service should be established and if a dedicated minister for social care was needed.

Last month it was warned that continuing pay disparities could affect recruitment, after generally better paid NHS Scotland staff were offered a 4% pay rise, with a guarantee that the lowest paid staff would receive an extra £1,000 a year, around twice that awarded to care staff.

Care workers are to receive at least £9.50 an hour from May, working out at 2.2% increase on the previous rate of £9.30 an hour.

This follows an independent review of adult social care in Scotland reporting the care workforce feels “undervalued and under-recognised…there is a deeper underlying sense that social care workers have not had parity of esteem with their NHS counterparts.”

The review did not recommend a particular pay level – but said every £1 added to hourly wages above the current levels would cost the Scottish government around £100m.

Candidates standing for office in the Holyrood elections set for 6^th May were asked about this at today’s hustings.

SNP candidate Mairi Gougeon, who was public health minister until the election campaign started, did not say whether she backed a 4% pay rise. She added that collective bargaining was an “important first step in the process” and insisted the Living Wage should be seen as a floor not a ceiling.

Scottish Conservative Miles Briggs, who has been in Holyrood since the 2016 election, said a 4% pay boost should “fairly” be offered to care staff as well. The call was also backed by Lib Dem candidate Alex Cole-Hamilton, who said this should be a minimum commitment

The Scottish Greens and Scottish Labour are both backing a £15 an hour wage – though the latter says there should a £12 an hour interim step.

Elsewhere during the two-hour question and answer session, the candidates set out their priorities for the sector.

A new national palliative care plan is top of the list for Conservative MSP Miles Briggs, alongside an urgent inquiry into the handling of the pandemic in care homes.

Liberal Democrat Alex Cole-Hamilton highlighted a need to set national care standards for staff and service users when it comes to pay and quality of care, alongside a commitment to scrap charges for care delivered in people’s homes.

He added that local commissioning should be retained and enhanced with service users being involved more, and that unpaid carers needed better support through improved respite services and financial support.

The SNP’s Mairi Gougeon said that, should her party be returned to power, she wants to ‘hit the ground running’ by setting up a consultation on a national care service that has human rights and fair work principles embedded in it.

Labour’s candidate Carol Mochan said her party would pay care staff ‘appropriately’ for their ‘excellent work’, and push for a ‘human rights and people-based service’ where marketisation is removed and national standards are set by a national care service.

Concurring with the SNP and Labour, the Greens’ Rachel Shanks said establishing a national care service is one of her party’s top priorities where workers are paid a minimum of £15 per hour. After what has come to pass over the past year, Ms Shanks also advocated dedicated mental health support for health and social care staff.

Candidates were split on the question of whether a new minister for social care should be appointed by the next government – a key ask from the third sector representative body, the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland.

Carol Mochan said that in her personal opinion a dedicated member of the cabinet would be a good move but Labour has as yet stopped short of committing to it.

Green party candidate and former law lecturer Rachel Shanks suggested that if the work was being undertaken to create a national care service, then it would be prudent to appoint a minister in charge of care at the same time.

Former Conservative party health spokesperson Miles Briggs however suggested another minister need not be added to this portfolio, stating it was ‘another matter’ whether the current Health Secretary Jeane Freeman – who has said herself that she considers social care to be a key part of her remit – had prioritised social care during her time in office.

SNP candidate Mairi Gougeon said any such move should be considered by the next government while bearing in mind how useful it had been to have a dedicated minister appointed as Scotland looked to establish its own social security system. But, she said, questions should be asked about how big society wants government to get.

Current Lib Dem health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton dismissed the idea, stating that appointing a separate minister would be an admission that ‘the integration agenda had failed’. Minds needed to be concentrated on the task at hand, he said, as well as current systems being funded properly and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport being made the Secretary for Health and Social Care who would have their ‘feet held to the fire’ over any failings in care.

Read more: Thinktank: Feeley plans not true National Care Service; Election social care funding plans ‘fall short’; Comment: Why no minister for social care?

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