Question reference: S6W-22458
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 26 October 2023
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to support care home services that are at risk of closure due to the reported loss of funding in the National Care Home Contract Fee, in light of reported concerns that the provision of care for older people is increasingly complex.
Answer
The National Care Home Contract sets the rate for publicly funded care home placements and is negotiated annually between COSLA, Scottish Care and Scotland Excel. The Scottish Government is not a contractual party to it. We are pleased Scottish Care members voted to accept the 6% uplift offer from COSLA to agree the contract for 2023-4.
The Scottish Budget for 2023-4 provides record funding of over £19bn for health and social care, providing new investment of over £1bn and supporting recovery and reform to secure sustainable public services.
However, we recognise the challenges facing social care services such as energy costs, the costs of living and Brexit which has impacted the recruitment and retention of staff.
We continue to engage with the sector and other partners regularly to build a more sustainable workforce that feels truly valued and properly rewarded for their work.