Representatives of social care providers have expressed their “deep disappointment and frustration” at what they say is the glaring omission of support for the sector in next year’s budget.

A record breaking £21.7bn commitment to health and social care in Scotland’s 2025-26 budget has been welcomed by nurses, doctors, and the Mental Health Foundation. 

However, organisations representing care homes and not-for-profit care providers say a lack of ringfenced funding for social care services and their workforce means the budget will fail to address urgent sustainability challenges facing the sector.

They say an absence of measures to progress ethical commissioning and address funding shortfalls, alongside urgent relief to mitigate the impact of employer National Insurance increases, will force more services to close and even put lives at risk.

CEO of Scottish Care Donald Macaskill says the “continued absolute obsessional focus on the NHS” at the expense of social care has a human cost:

“This Scottish budget is even more disappointing than we feared it would be.

“Scottish Care called for a budget that cares. This is a budget that kills.

“It will kill any reassurance that the Scottish government truly values social care, it will kill essential community services which are forced to close and leave workers without employment. And ultimately, it will kill people.”

Budget documents confirm that the Scottish government will fund a pay rise for adult social care staff up to £12.60 an hour, the level of the UK living wage.

The CEO of the Coalition of Care & Support Providers (CCPS) Scotland, Rachel Cackett, says this is “hugely disappointing and damaging”.

 

What about plans for NHS reform?

Meanwhile, professional organisations and trade unions representing doctors and nurses have welcomed funding commitments on delayed discharge but say detailed plans for NHS reform and the NHS workforce must now follow.

That echoes calls earlier this week from Scotland’s Auditor General for the Scottish government to set out how it intends to prioritise reform of the health service.

Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of BMA Scotland, says money alone will never be enough to solve the crisis in the NHS:

“So, along with new funding, we also need the Scottish government to demonstrate that they are heeding the alarms which are being sounded loud and clear about the state of the NHS and set out a clear plan to get to grips with the many complex issues and challenges we face and put the NHS on a sustainable footing.”

 

Targeted support

The budget announcement comes in the days following a critical incident being declared at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and reports of “grossly unsafe” conditions at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Responding to the budget, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh says it hopes the government targets additional funding at the services struggling most.

The Royal College of Nursing Scotland, meanwhile, says investment to retain and recruit staff is

“badly needly”, with the number of vacant full-time nurse and midwife posts across Scotland now sitting at above 2,380.

Director Colin Poolman says the Scottish government must implement the recommendations of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce – which is due to report soon – to deliver the positive change the profession needs.

Commitments to scrap the two-child benefit cap and restore winter fuel payments has been welcomed by the Mental Health Foundation – however, the organisation says a 1.3% increase in mental health and wellbeing initiatives leaves much to be desired.

The Foundation’s Associate Director for Devolved Nations, Julie Cameron, says:

“The budget is a step in the right direction in closing the gap between policy intent and action to tackle Scotland’s ongoing mental health crisis.  

“Scotland’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy has a vital part to play in that, and we are pleased to see some increase in funding for that in the final budget.”

 

Read more: Health and care in the Scottish budget; “Difficult” budget cuts to health and care; NHS Scotland: waiting lists and beyond; Major shake-up in NHS service planning