SNP minister attacks Cosla over 'ignoring disabled people' amid care service rethink
An SNP minister has taken a swipe at council chiefs pulling their support for the national care service as she confirmed updated plans will be tabled next year.
The SNP minister responsible for the Scottish Government’s troubled national care service has accused council chiefs of ending their support for the policy out of the blue and ignoring the concerns of disabled people.
Maree Todd told MSPs that she would bring forward updated plans for a national care service in the new year - after she was forced to “pause” the plans after failing to gain the backing of opposition MSPs needed for the legislation to pass.
Ms Todd was accused of “trying to shift blame to Cosla” and failed to admit the legislation hitting a brick wall was down to the actions of her government.
But she claimed that the Labour UK government’s plans to hike national insurance employer contributions is “very likely” to tip Scotland’s social care system “into absolute crisis”.
Under the plans, social care services would be centralised to eradicate an apparent postcode lottery for levels of social care across Scotland. But concerns had been raised by Cosla, the umbrella group for Scottish local councils, over a lack of local accountability and responsibility - as well as various other fears including the costs and jobs.
More than £28 million has already been spent on the policy - one of the boldest public service reforms of the SNP’s 17 years in power, and formed a key policy of Nicola Sturgeon’s administration. In 2021, Ms Sturgeon branded the national care service the "most ambitious reform since devolution”.
Speaking at Holyrood, Ms Todd stressed that feedback has shown that the Scottish Government “should be held accountable for the social care system in Scotland”, claiming ministers should “lead that much-needed change”.
She added that the stuttering legislation will bring forward “structural reform that further empowers the role of people with lived experience in scrutiny”.
Ms Todd said: “The bill, and the package of draft amendments that I shared with the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee in June, represent the government’s view of how best to achieve that structural reform.
“We have encountered some opposition to these proposals.”
She added: “I was particularly disappointed that, after more than a year of negotiations, Cosla have withdrawn their support for the NCS bill.
“Disabled people’s organisations across Scotland have reported being ignored by Cosla, despite their attempts to engage.”
The minister admitted she will “need to consider what approach will secure sufficient support to progress” given the Scottish Government no longer has majority support at Holyrood.
Ms Todd said: “Throughout the development of the bill, the Scottish Government has been committed to listening and engaging.
“Operating as a minority government makes this even more important.”
She added that pausing the legislation was “a necessary step to ensure that we get this right for people”.
But Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary, Sandesh Gulhane, claimed that Ms Todd was “trying to shift the blame to Cosla and all opposition parties”.
He said: “Cosla withdrew (its support) after painstaking negotiations because all of its key asks were ignored.
“The minister has united civic Scotland against the bill and united the parliament against the bill.”
Dr Gulhane accused Ms Todd of “delaying the inevitable”, claiming “the bill is dead in the water”.
He added: “It is clear the greatest barrier to social care reform in Scotland is now the national care service bill.”
But Ms Todd rejected the narrative, insisting that “we are a listening government”.
She claimed that the Scottish Government had worked at great length to appease Cosla and agreed to put talks on hold, only for the organisation to turn its back on the policy out of the blue.
She said: “The reason that we changed the bill so extensively, much to the concern of many in this parliament, was because we listened and because Cosla in particular, asked us to change the bill.
“We made an agreement over a year ago, between local authorities, NHS and ourselves. We put in place, over the course of the next year, a system and a proposal that we thought would work.
“It is no wonder I was taken by surprise by their withdrawal of their support.”
Ms Todd added: “They had asked us to pause negotiations over the course of the summer.
“They had capacity issues in terms of turning their attention to the delayed discharge problem and also focusing on negotiations for the bill.
“We set the bill to one side and without coming back to the negotiation table, they unilaterally withdrew support.”
Despite the direct criticism, Ms Todd insisted: “I am not seeking to blame Cosla.”
Labour health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie, warned that SNP ministers “have had 17 years to fix social care”, adding that “they have had over three years to get this bill right and have simply failed”.
Dame Jackie pointed to £28m of public money “wasted” on the national care service, adding that the Scottish Government has “let down disabled people in the process”.
She called on Ms Todd to “stop the dither and delay” and set out what the Scottish Government intends to do to “improve social care right now”.
Ms Todd confirmed that she intends “to return in the new year, with a proposal for this bill”.
Pointing to Labour’s plans at Westminster to increase national insurance contributions for employers, Ms Todd claimed that decision by Chancellor Rachel Reeves was “made without any understanding of how that would impact on our social care system in Scotland”.
She added: “It is likely, very likely to tip it into absolute crisis.”
Cosla has been contacted for comment.
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