The Social Care Minister has told parliament that a lack of cooperation from Scotland’s local authorities has held back Scottish government attempts to improve conditions for care workers.

Kevin Stewart, minster for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, said he would “take any help he can get” in persuading local government organisation COSLA to “walk that mile with us and improve conditions for the social care workforce”.

The removal of non-residential care charges – which the minister said he was ‘committed to introducing as soon as possible’ back in January - will also need to be done in partnership with COSLA.

Mr Stewart reassured parliament that the government will continue to seek local partners’ cooperation.

Government plans for a national care service have been criticised as “an attack on localism” by the local government body, which has called for the government to reconsider its broad proposals to bring together children’s services and social work into a new national agency alongside adult social care.

In reponse to the comments made by Mr Stewart to parliament earlier this week, a COSLA spokesperoson said:

“COSLA and our local authority members have worked closely with the Scottish government and indeed other partners before, during and after a pandemic which has had a significant impact on how care services are delivered and on the staff involved in delivering them.

"We have agreed a joint Statement of Intent with the Scottish government and are actively working with them on this including active work on the removal of non-residential charging. COSLA officers are also working closely with the Scottish government and other partners through the Fair Work in Social Care Group which is looking at a range of ways to improve the terms and conditions of care workers particularly those in the third and independent sectors.

“In addition to this we have recently agreed with the Scottish government an approach to improve workforce planning, learning and development for social care workers and improvements to commissioning services. Alongside this, as recently as January, COSLA and the Scottish Government published a new strategy for Health and Social Care endorsed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and COSLA Leaders."

At a parliamentary debate on keeping care close to home held earlier this week, Conservative Health Spokesperson Dr Sandesh Gulhane said a “toxic cocktail” of understaffing, growing backlogs, and delayed discharge are having a knock-on effect on social care services across Scotland.

Dr Gulhane – whose party has developed plans for a local care service – said a centralised model could be fragmented, with local services losing their “responsiveness and creativity”.

Scottish Labour MSP, Paul O’Kane, said the social care workforce is demoralised and feels undervalued, as he reiterated his party’s calls for an immediate sector-wide pay rise to £12 an hour.

Kevin Stewart said this would cost the government £620m and, even if passed, the “disparate employment situation” in social care meant he could not be sure the money would make its way into workers’ pockets.

Social care workers should now receive a minimum of £10.50 an hour after two concurrent pay rises announced last year by the Scottish government.

However, third sector representatives have voiced concerns over delays in receiving the funds, with an “‘utterly dysfunctional funding distribution system leaving many care organisations forced to fund the government-mandated pay rises themselves.

The Scottish government’s most recent Health and Care Experience survey of local healthcare services and at-home care revealed councils now fund less than a quarter of all care provided, with friends and families filling the gap.

The survey also showed growing dissatisfaction with health and care services in Scotland, with almost 1 in 5 respondents receiving care saying they were unaware of support options available to them.

Gillian Martin, convenor of the Scottish parliament’s Health and Social Care committee, said informing patients must be a priority, including the ability to monitor their place on waiting lists.  

Scotland has “greatness literally at its fingerprints”, with data-driven medical technology and artificial intelligence, according to Dr Gulhane. However, he urged the Scottish government to speed up funding for home-grown initiatives.

Kevin Stewart says the government is determined to explore “every possible avenue to improve health and social care” and will work closely with colleagues across the chamber.

A recruitment strategy for social care is due to be published by the end of the year.

 

Read more: Care worker pay rise hit by funding delays; Care Service plans ‘attack on local democracy’; Watchdogs: Care can’t wait five years for action

 

 

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