Current status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its draft Budget 2026-27, what its response is to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' (COSLA) assessment that there is a £15 million funding gap in meeting the estimated £175 million cost of delivering the real Living Wage to adult social care workers.
The draft Budget 2026-27 set out a further £160 million investment to enable the payment of the Real Living Wage to adult social care workers in commissioned services in the next financial year.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has subsequently announced that a further £20 million will be allocated to the Local Government Settlement for Social Care, which can be used towards funding the Real Living Wage for adult and childcare sectors. This ensures that there is budget available to fully meet the £175 million required to enable the payment of the Real Living Wage for adult social care workers in the next financial year.
This will take the total Scottish Government investment in adult social care pay to over £1.1 billion annually, reaffirming our commitment to fair work and recognising the essential contribution of social care workers.