The Scottish Government should focus more on tackling the ‘ineffective’ funding of social care rather than adding ‘bureaucratic layers’ to the system, public finance experts say.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) have criticised the introduction of a National Care Service Board, arguing it amounted to ‘adding bureaucratic layers rather than addressing fundamental issues like ineffective funding.’
CIPFA questioned the accuracy of cost estimates and value for money of the proposed National Care Service in 2022.
William Burns, CIPFA Social Care Policy Advisor, yesterday (19 September) suggested that investing resources in structural change was not the best use of limited funds ‘when immediate challenges demand attention.’
The Social Care Minister Maree Todd responded that social care needs to be ‘fundamentally’ transformed, adding Holyrood was committed to establishing a National Care Service Board that ‘delivers clear, consistent national care standards by the end of this Parliamentary term.’
