Cole-Hamilton: Social care being doubly failed by Labour and SNP

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has said that only the Liberal Democrats have a plan to fix the crisis in care ahead of a ministerial statement about UK Government decisions on social care, as he urged both Labour and the SNP to recognise how they have harmed the sector.

A survey conducted by Scottish Care found that 48% of care homes feared the possibility of closure due to Labour’s increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions.

Under Labour's new immigration plans, care homes will be prevented from recruiting staff from abroad. There are fears this will increase staff shortages and force more care homes to close.

The Liberal Democrats want care providers, including care homes and those providing care in peoples’ homes, to be exempt from the National Insurance hike. The party have long called for a new minimum wage for care workers, making it easier to recruit British staff and tackle chronic shortages.

In Scotland, almost 2,000 people are stuck in hospital every month due to their discharge being delayed. Gaps in care at home or in the community are a key reason for such delays.

SNP ministers have now ditched proposals to centralise social care services, after wasting £30 million and four years pursuing them. Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose those plans from the moment they were first announced.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Hammering social care providers with more costs has led to warnings of closures and even bigger gaps in support.  The decision risks making the overarching crisis in our NHS so much worse; it is palpably wrong.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats have led the way in calling for social care providers to be exempted from this cruel tax rise. We will keep pressing the Labour Government to do that, but the SNP must also recognise the impact of their own reckless decisions.

“Just look at the four years and £30 million they wasted on a bureaucratic power grab of social care- money that could have paid the salaries of 1,200 care workers.

“Social care has been doubly failed by the decisions of both Labour and the SNP. Only the Liberal Democrats have a plan to fix care: the UK Government must exempt social care providers from this hike and the Scottish Government must finally invest in the staff and services they have repeatedly neglected.”