The Scottish government has done a deal with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, getting their support for this year’s budget in return for the promise of extra funds for social care and hospice staff. Care organisations say the additional money is welcome, but ministers also now need to repair the damage done by their original proposals.

Following negotiations with some of the opposition parties at Holyrood, the government has announced it will allocate nearly £23 million additional spending in the 2026-2027 budget for care and hospices.

£20 million will be added to the Local Government Settlement for social care to be used towards funding the Real Living wage for adult and childcare sectors.

An additional £2.9 million will be made available to the hospice sector to deliver pay parity for staff with their NHS counterparts on Agenda for Change pay rates.

Funds of £7.5 million will be earmarked to speed up autism and ADHD assessments.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison MSP commended the approach taken by the Liberal Democrats:

“There are a range of areas where we share priorities and have acted – such as the college sector, hospices, and social care. With that agreement now in place to secure a majority in parliament in support of the Bill, I am confident we will make lives better for people in Scotland.”

In all, the negotiations with the Liberal Democrats netted some £300 million of extra spending, with business rates relief, colleges and Scotland’s islands also benefiting.

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy and finance spokesperson, Jamie Greene MSP said:

“When it became clear that this budget would pass, I promised that the Scottish Liberal Democrats would squeeze it for every penny to deliver for people across the country. That is exactly what we have done,”.

Scotland’s local authorities described the additional funding as important but not enough.

Local government organisation COSLA's Health and Social Care spokesperson, Councillor Paul Kelly commented:

"We welcome the Scottish Government's decision to fully fund the cost of implementing the Real Living Wage across contracted Adults and Children's Care.

"This decision is an important one that gives our partner providers assurance that direct care workers will receive at least the Real Living Wage in 2026-27.

"While the additional funding is welcome, the budget still falls short of the £750 million in urgent investment the sector truly needs. COSLA will continue to seek further investment in social care in the years to come."

The organisation representing independent care providers, Scottish Care said the ‘collective voice of the sector has been instrumental in ensuring the seriousness of the funding gap and its consequences were clearly understood’.

In a statement Scottish Care called the extra funding ‘a welcome and necessary intervention’ and said:

‘This decision recognises what providers, workers, local government and trade unions have been consistently clear about: the workforce is the heart of social care, and failure to properly fund the Real Living Wage places both staff and the sustainability of services at unacceptable risk.

‘While this funding will not, on its own, resolve the wider and deep-rooted challenges facing the sector, it is an essential step in the right direction.

‘Ensuring that social care workers are paid fairly for their skilled, compassionate and vital work is fundamental to retaining staff, maintaining safe services, and supporting the wider health and care system.’

Damage done

Scottish Care’s statement goes on to say that real anxiety has been caused for providers and staff from the failure to consult with the sector – and that the unilateral approach to funding decisions should never have been taken and must not be repeated.

The organisation said the decision to provide additional funding has to be seen as ‘a foundation, not a conclusion’, adding:

‘Much more will be required to address the true cost of care, ensure fair and transparent commissioning, and secure the long-term sustainability of social care services across Scotland.”

The Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), representing not-for-profit providers, said the original budget last month put the sector at risk by creating a services funding gap that its members couldn’t plug.

CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett, said:

“I am glad that the Scottish Government has listened to the evidence from CCPS and its provider members and now understands the devastating impact this decision could have had on the ground for supported people, staff and the entire sustainability of our sector

“This decision to include additional funds in the budget will – assuming it is passed – stave off a terrible position for everyone who needs, and works in, social care.

“I appreciate the leadership involved in correcting a mis-step in the original budget. And I must also be clear that this now takes us back to the position we thought we were in when the budget was published: a settlement that is still far short of meeting the needs of supported people or the value of skilled, regulated support staff.

“After the last month, there is work needed to rebuild trust with key providers in social care, as core partners in public service. And there is much more to do to design a settlement that will stabilise our sector, then allow it – and supported people – to thrive.”

Scottish Care and CCPS say they now want to work constructively with the Scottish Government and COSLA to deliver a social care system for Scotland that properly funds and values staff and the services they provide.

 

Read more:  Social workers call for disability funding rethink; Councils warn of social care cuts ahead; Health and care in the Scottish budget

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