Seòmar agus comataidhean

Traditionally, since 2010, the payments have increased in line with inflation. In the first few years of their existence—up to 2007, when the Scottish National Party Government came into power—they were not increased at all. From 2007 to 2010, we and local authorities negotiated the payment rates, and from 2010 to 2020, they were increased using the GDP deflator.

As you said, there have been above-inflation rises in the past three years. Unfortunately, the financial context this year means that that cannot occur again. However, in the financial context that we are experiencing, I am pleased to be able to increase the payments in line with the GDP deflator, as stated.

We have not done an impact assessment because it is not a new policy; an existing policy is being continued. We have not done a full impact assessment, but we expect this to support everyone who is self-funding in the system, which we think is around 10,000 people.

The £11.5 million is additional funding to fully fund the uplift.

I ask my official Clare Thomas to respond to that line of questioning.

I move,

That the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee recommends that the Community Care (Personal Care and Nursing Care) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024 [draft] be approved.

As stated during questioning, the uprating is fully funded by the Scottish Government, and local authorities have additional income in their budget in order to ensure that it is paid. I am happy to put the matter to a vote with the committee.

In the past three years, our ambition has certainly been to give above-inflation settlements. Unfortunately, the financial context that we find ourselves in this year does not enable us to do that. Local authorities will make their own decisions on their local priorities, as they are democratically elected to do.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to the committee about a proposed amendment to the Community Care (Personal Care and Nursing Care) (Scotland) Regulations 2002.

The draft regulations that are before the committee will make routine annual increases to the rates for free personal and nursing care. Those payments help to cover the cost of those services for self-funding adults in residential care.

This year, I am happy to propose an uplift based on the GDP deflator that will result in a 6.68 per cent increase in the current rates. The GDP deflator has been used historically as the inflationary measure to increase those rates. That will mean that the weekly payment rates for personal care for self-funders will rise from £233.10 to £248.70 and the nursing care component will rise from £104.90 to £111.90. It is estimated that that will cost around £11.5 million in the next financial year. That will be fully funded by the Scottish Government with additional investment in the local government settlement, as outlined in the recent 2024-25 Scottish budget.

The most recent official statistics show that more than 10,000 self-funders receive free personal and nursing care payments. All of them should benefit from the changes.

I am happy to take any questions from the committee.

Yes. I was asked by The Times to provide a comment, on the back of some reporting of the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, on the figure of £3.9 billion. I quickly reiterated that that is not the cost that we anticipate of the bill for the national care service. That was a comparative figure that was an extrapolation over 10 years, on the original basis. We now have a significantly better understanding of costs. We produced that figure in order to aid the committee in its scrutiny of the bill but, of course, that is not the cost of the national care service in the form in which we intend to proceed with it.

Yes. However, there is uncertainty. People do not like change and uncertainty. There are many excellent groups that operate out there in our mixed market economy for accessing social care, and they have nothing to fear from the change. We are going to improve quality right across the board and improve the pay and conditions of people who work in social care. The change is to be welcomed, but I absolutely acknowledge that there is uncertainty and concern about how it will impact on individual businesses and individual charities.

As I have said, I regularly hear from and meet stakeholders to reassure them about the changes that are coming. Everybody agrees with the general principles of the bill—I have not yet met anyone who disagrees with them. We all want to move to a more effective, person-centred, human rights-based and high-quality social care system—nobody is arguing against that. However, there is undoubtedly a big and complex system at the moment with lots of touch points with other systems. It is a mixed market economy. I am working really hard at giving people reassurance during this period of change.