Scotland’s social care minister is urging council leaders to ensure all the funding local authorities receive next year intended for carers actually reaches the country’s unpaid carers.

Minister Maree Todd has written to local authority organisation COSLA to ‘encourage’ transparency in local spending on carer support.

Ms Todd reiterated the Scottish government’s commitment to continue to support councils to spend their full share of Carers Act funding – set to be £88.4m in 2025/26 – on expanding carer support.

This follows the finding last year that millions meant for carers were misspent by councils.

More than a quarter of the funds were spent elsewhere, including to offset loans or implement pay rises that meet the Living Wage.

Writing to COSLA health and social care spokesperson Paul Kelly, the minister said she recognises the financial pressures facing local councils and integration joint boards (IJBs) in delivering health and care services:

‘I know that, in addition to other inflationary and demand pressures, local carer support organisations are concerned about the impact of employer National Insurance Contributions on their costs.

‘It therefore feels all the more important to ask for your support in ensuring that Local Authorities and Integration Authorities are sighted on the Carers Act funding set out in my previous letter (£88.4m per year plus a share of social care uplifts since 2022-23) and in encouraging them to ensure these resources are allocated in full to providing support for unpaid carers, including young carers.’

This comes after the Accounts Commission revealed IJBs face an almost half a billion pound funding gap, as the national public spending watchdog warned of tough times ahead.

The Coalition of Carers in Scotland, which discovered the scale of misspending last year, welcomed the letter after urging the government to deliver greater transparency and accountability in its care reform plans.

In her letter to COSLA’s health and social care spokesperson, Ms Todd said she will look to explore ways to improve financial transparency across health and social care:

‘Although we will no longer legislate for ministers to have powers to directly fund integration authorities as part of the National Care Service Bill, I will consider what changes can be made to guidance and reporting processes to improve financial transparency and I am committed to working constructively with COSLA to achieve this.

‘I have no doubt that this issue, and the others outlined above, will be discussed in our forthcoming meeting with local carer centre representatives.’

A COSLA spokesperson told healthandcare.scot that since receiving the letter, COSLA has undertaken discussions with local partners including health and social care partnerships but that investing in wider services is essential to supporting carers too:

“COSLA recognises local carer centres as essential delivery partners, offering tailored support to both young and adult carers in their communities.

“The full £88.4m of Carers Act funding is allocated to all Integration Authorities to enable local areas to meet their wide-ranging statutory duties under the Act.

“This includes the right to a social work assessment for all unpaid carers, ensuring those who are assessed as eligible are able to access support and a break from caring, and that carers are involved in both the individual and strategic decisions which impact them. Integration authorities report annually on overall spend for services to support carers.

“The reality of the situation is that carer support relies on a much wider health and social care infrastructure, and in the context of significant financial challenges, it is clear that these impacts are being felt across all parts of the system.

“COSLA and Local government remain committed to working with partners to ensure carers are able to access the support they need and that their personal outcomes are met.”

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