Exclusive:Care service board branded 'another SNP talking shop' as thousands spent on three meetings amid union row
SNP ministers are embroiled in a row with trade unions over the advisory board.
The Scottish Government’s blueprint to resuscitate its botched National Care Service plans has been branded “another costly SNP talking shop” after it was revealed thousands has been spent on the first three meetings of an interim advisory board billed to “drive progress and scrutinise reform”.
SNP ministers are also engulfed in a row with trade unions over taking part in the board that was meant to play a key role in getting the Scottish Government’s plans to overhaul adult social care back on track.
Then SNP social care minister Maree Todd told MSPs in January that she would “move quickly to establish a national care service advisory board”, insisting it would have “a wide remit”. She added that the board would meet for the first time in March.
But a Freedom of Information response has revealed that an interim board, ahead of the full panel being established, has only met three times - and cost taxpayers more than £16,000. Five of the interim board members have been paid a share of £9,000 for attending the first three meetings.
As well as start-up costs including £1,547 on laptops and £525 for security clearance, the interim board, which first met two months late in May, has spent £3,000 on venue hire and catering for the first three meetings. Other costs included specialist audio visual provision for accessibility at £1,769 for two meetings.
But the Scottish Government is caught in a disagreement with trade unions over their role in the board, meaning care workers are currently not represented on the panel.
In its FOI response, the Scottish Government claimed that “Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) were invited to nominate a single board member to provide the perspective of the trade unions” on the board, adding that “having discussed the option with care sector unions to have one place on the interim NCS advisory board, they decided not to put forward a nominee”.
But unions have disputed this claim. It is understood the STUC believed it was more appropriate for trade unions that directly represent care workers to take part, with concerns raised over holding just one place on the board.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, branded the situation “nothing more than yet another costly SNP talking shop”.
He said: “This humiliating snub exposes this advisory board as nothing more than yet another costly SNP talking shop.
“Nationalist ministers committed to having trade union representation on the board, but the care sector unions have clearly seen right through this charade – and rightly refused to take part.
“The SNP have already blown £30 million on their doomed National Care Service — money that could have paid for 1,200 frontline care workers.
“To add insult to injury, this advisory board has already spent over £16,000 despite only holding three meetings – including billing taxpayers £800 for catering for just two meetings.
“It’s time the SNP got serious about social care and focused on supporting the local care services which have been repeatedly neglected on their watch.”
Jennifer McCarey, regional organiser for the social care sector at Unison Scotland, told The Scotsman, that the board is “very heavy with employer representatives”.
She added: “The ethos of the board is lived experience and, actually, we would like to support that. But we do not think the answer is to have one sole union voice. Having a body that is incredibly top-heavy with employers is not fair representation.
“We went back to the Scottish Government and said we think it’s unreasonable that you have so many employer representatives and you are asking for one person to represent the 230,000 people who work in care in Scotland. We are still waiting for a reply.”
Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said: “Our discussions with the Scottish Government about the shape of a new national care service were long, tortuous but ultimately meaningless.
“The failure to seriously engage with care workers and allow the plans to be shaped by their experience and expertise is one of the main reasons why we withdrew from the process and why the opportunity to build a new service has been squandered.
“The subsequent refusal to offer a seat on the advisory board to both trade unions willing to join it is only another example of how the voice of care workers went unheard during what has been a dispiriting road to nowhere.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “More than 200,000 people across Scotland access care each year and that care should be delivered to a consistently high standard.
“That’s why we are determined to bring forward much-needed reform to social care, backed by almost £2.2 billion of investment in social care and integration in 2025-26, and the Care Reform (Scotland) Act that was unanimously passed by Parliament in June.
“The National Care Service Advisory Board will drive progress and scrutinise reform to ensure we can meet the care needs of those who require it. The Board is independent of Government and has a diverse membership including people with experience of accessing care services, unpaid carers and those who work in the sector. Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) were invited to nominate a board member.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.