Technical Notes 2022, Issue 171 - Scottish Government response to the Motion of 22nd September re National Care Service

At its meeting of 22nd September 2022, East Dunbartonshire Council agreed the following Motion:   

Council notes that the Scottish Government Consultation on Adult Social Care now includes a range of Council Services, including Children's Services, alcohol and drug services, Criminal Justice and Social Work, and some areas of mental health services, which goes way beyond the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Care. Most worryingly, these services were included at the last minute without any prior discussions with local government.

Additionally, there is no clarity on what this would cost, how it would be funded or what the impacts will be on local people who desperately need and use these services would be.

Council sees this as another example of the Scottish Government's centralisation of control agenda rather than local empowerment and calls on the Scottish Government to explain the rationale for the inclusion of these services and further explain why it was felt acceptable to expand the Consultation to include these services without any prior discussion with local government.

Council notes that in the Scottish Government Minister's response to this Motion received on 21st October 2021, the penultimate paragraph stated “I would like to reassure you and your colleagues that local government are important partners in delivering social care currently and will remain so as we develop new ways to deliver improved care across the country.”

This Council notes that within the past year

• No meaningful consultation with Councils through CoSLA and other stakeholders on the future of wider social care services.
• No evidence has been provided that a National Care Service will provide improved care.
• That the estimated cost of this change will be at least £250 million, which means the loss of £5 million for badly needed frontline services in East Dunbartonshire.
• That individual Health and Social Care partnerships tailor their service to the different areas they cover whether in East Dunbartonshire, Argyll & Bute or Dundee.
• That there has been no consultation with the 75,000 Council employees in Scotland, or their Union representatives, on the proposals to transfer them out of Council employment.
• That there has been no consultation with the 75,000 employees on their potential transfer from the fully funded local government pension scheme to the unfunded Scottish Government Civil Service pension scheme. 

This Council resolves to write to the First Minister and the Minister responsible for this policy with copies to all the Members of Scottish Parliament who represent East Dunbartonshire whether elected directly or through the List to ask for :-

• transparency on the best value funding for the National Care Service vs improved funding for local authorities; and
• meaningful consultation with Councils and council employees on the future of social care.

As instructed, the Motion was communicated to the First Minister, the Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, and all Members of the Scottish Parliament who represent East Dunbartonshire.  The Scottish Government’s response, from the Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, is appended for Members’ information.