25 February 2026

CCPS responds to Scottish Budget passing: “it’s time to fund social care like it matters”

While we welcome the move to return £20m of funding to social care, the budget still does not go anywhere near far enough to support a sector which is facing immense jeopardy

CCPS has responded to the 2026-27 budget passing its final stage in the Scottish Parliament this evening, urging the next government and parliament to do more to “fund social care like it matters”.

While we welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to return £20m of funding to social care in the budget – and parliament’s endorsement of this today – the budget as passed still does not go anywhere near far enough to support a sector which is facing immense jeopardy.

The draft budget, published on January 13, said that “funding for Health and Social Care will increase to a record high” in 2026-27, which the government has stated fulfils a 2021 manifesto pledge to “increase public investment in social care by 25% over this Parliament”.

Yet, as the Fraser of Allander Institute has identified: “more investment has happened, but it has not been enough to outstrip increased costs, and certainly not to deal with increasing demand.”

Deliberations around this year’s budget have been turbulent for our sector. When the government published its draft budget, CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett stated that there was nothing in the budget that seemed “to fully acknowledge the scale of jeopardy Scotland’s social care system currently faces.”

We then learned that the government had unilaterally changed the way it intended to fund pay for frontline staff in care services commissioned by the public sector. And we expressed extreme concern when we became aware of an estimated £19 million funding gap, which the sector would have been expected to meet.

This move came at a time when our members were already being forced to scale back services and rely on reserves to reach financial balance. They simply did not have resources to cover this huge funding shortfall.

In response, CCPS and its members launched into a period of intense influencing, calling on the government to Fund Social Care Like It Matters and return the £19m to the budget.

On 12 February, following budget negotiations with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, the government announced that it had changed its mind, pledging an additional £20m to meet Real Living Wage commitments in social care.

CCPS welcomed this U-turn, celebrating the effectiveness of our collective voice in achieving this change, but emphasised that the Scottish Budget still falls far short of what is needed to stabilise and guarantee the long-term sustainability of the sector.

Responding to the budget passing its final vote today, CCPS CEO Rachel Cackett said:

“Seeing the budget pass today will likely cause mixed feelings among the sector. While I am pleased to see £20m of additional funding secured for social care – and am grateful to all MSPs, members and partners who helped effect this crucial change – the budget remains woefully inadequate for a sector facing immense jeopardy.

“At a time when demand for the services they offer is rising, a lack of sustainable funding has meant far too many providers in CCPS’s membership are being forced to reduce the services they can offer. When people can’t access social care support, it impacts their independence, health and wellbeing, adding strain to other services – including the NHS.

“Though a significant improvement compared to its initial draft, the budget still fails to address this reality. It falls far short of what is needed to stabilise and guarantee the long-term sustainability of our sector.

“A rights-based, sustainable system of social care and support would benefit people and communities throughout Scotland, but for this vision to be realised the next government and Scottish Parliament must change the status quo, tackle the sector’s underfunding head-on and finally commit to funding social care like it matters.”

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12 February 2026

Government decision on social care pay welcome – now more must be done to ‘fund social care like it matters’ 

CCPS welcomes the Scottish Government’s announcements today that it has committed to provide £20m of additional funds to meet Real Living Wage commitments in social care

CCPS welcomes the Scottish Government’s announcement today, following budget negotiations with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, that it has committed to provide £20m of additional funds to meet Real Living Wage commitments in social care.

We are also pleased to hear the clarification from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance that this money will be provided explicitly to underpin commitments to staff pay in adult and childcare services in commissioned providers, such as those not-for-profit providers represented by CCPS. 

Following intensive influencing work by CCPS, our members, and partners – including our call to Fund Social Care Like It Matters – today represents a significant victory, and confirms the effectiveness of our collective voice.

We are pleased that we have been heard clearly by Scottish Ministers and are grateful to opposition MSPs from the Liberal Democrats, Labour, Greens, and Conservatives for engaging with us over the past month and helping us influence the government on this issue. We hope that this can be fully endorsed through the passage of the Budget Bill.

On January 13, the government published its draft budget, revealing it had unilaterally changed the way it funds pay for frontline staff in social care providers contracted to provide public services. We understood this would leave an estimated £19 million funding gap from April this year, which the sector would be expected to fund out of its own pocket.

This came at a time when our members were already being forced to scale back services and rely on reserves to reach financial balance. They simply did not have the resources to cover what would be a major funding shortfall.

CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett, said: “I am glad that the Scottish Government has listened to the evidence from CCPS and its provider members and now understands the devastating impact this decision could have had on the ground for supported people, staff and the entire sustainability of our sector

“This decision to include additional funds in the budget will – assuming it is passed – stave off a terrible position for everyone who needs, and works in, social care. I appreciate the leadership involved in correcting a mis-step in the original budget. And I must also be clear that this now takes us back to the position we thought we were in when the budget was published: a settlement that is still far short of meeting the needs of supported people or the value of skilled, regulated support staff.

“After the last month, there is work needed to rebuild trust with key providers in social care, as core partners in public service. And there is much more to do to design a settlement that will stabilise our sector, then allow it – and supported people – to thrive.

“CCPS remains open to working in genuine collaboration to achieve that. But for today we will take a moment to breathe with our members, who at least have some certainty now that the government has made this move. We now hope that the budget will pass with at least these additional funds included, because we need this government – and the next – to fund social care like it matters.”

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Statement by First Minister on social care funding – CCPS reaction

Our response to comments at Holyrood today on potential amendments to the 2026-27 Scottish Budget

Responding to a question from Jamie Greene MSP at FMQs at Holyrood earlier this afternoon, the First Minister announced that an additional £20m would be provided to local government for social care to be used ‘for matters such as funding the Real Living Wage for adults and childcare services’.

Following efforts by our members to influence the Scottish Government to change its decision on funding of pay for social care workers in the 2026-27 budget, we welcome this decision.

However we are waiting for further details on how the funding will be distributed, as it is important that this is ringfenced for pay in commissioned services in line with the government’s own pay policy for staff in charities like those in our membership.

We look forward to clarification in the Chamber during the stage 1 debate this afternoon and will be commenting further later today.

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11 February 2026

CCPS launches new budget campaign: Fund social care like it matters

We’re calling on the Scottish Government to reverse its budget decision which could create an estimated £19 million funding shortfall in the social care sector

VIDEO: ‘Fund social care like it matters’ 

The Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) is calling on the Scottish Government to reverse a decision made in this year’s budget which is estimated to create a funding shortfall of around £19 million across the social care sector. 

When the Scottish Budget was published on January 13, it was revealed that the government had unilaterally changed the way it funds pay for frontline staff in public sector-commissioned social care services. 

This means the sector is now expected to plug a funding gap of around £19 million out of its own pocket – and the money just isn’t there. 

Watch our short explainer on the budget’s funding shortfall. 

The government’s policy is for staff in commissioned services to receive at least the Real Living Wage (RLW), and it has – until now – ringfenced an annual pay fund in the budget which enables providers to meet costs as the RLW rises. 

Yet without any prior consultation with providers in CCPS’s membership, the Scottish Government changed the way it calculates the pay fund in this year’s budget.  

If this decision goes ahead, it will result in a funding gap which CCPS members have begun to estimate as increasing costs of between £30,000 and £740,000 for their different sized organisations over a single year. 

Social care providers are not supermarkets – they can’t simply raise prices to cover additional costs. And with rising financial pressures, providers are already being forced to scale back services and rely on reserves to reach financial balance. 

When people can’t access social care support, it impacts their health and wellbeing and adds strain to other public services, including the NHS. Yet with social care providers in an already perilous situation, the Scottish Government has decided to add further pressure.  

But it’s not too late for the government to change this.  

Before the final budget vote on February 25, it can reverse this decision and give social care the investment it needs to thrive.  

We’re asking the Scottish Government to: 

  • Fund social care like it matters 
  • Return the £19 million 
  • Recommit to Fair Work in social care 

All of this would help rebuild trust with care providers, and mean the government could take an important step towards delivering its commitment to prevention, taking pressure off the NHS, and supporting people all over Scotland to live life on their own terms

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3 February 2026

A “marginal saving” that will harm the most marginalised

Following the decision in the 2026-27 Budget to alter the way pay for frontline staff in commissioned social care services is funded, we’ve published a briefing explaining the key issues involved and rebutting claims that changing the social care pay calculation is a reasonable choice

CCPS is deeply concerned by the impact of changes that Scottish Ministers have unilaterally made to the funding of pay for frontline staff in commissioned social care services in the 2026-27 Scottish Budget.

The decision to save a marginal sum risks support for the most marginalised people, and those who work with them. Our members are also angered by Scottish Ministers’ absolute lack of transparency in this change.

The briefing, which was shared with MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Finance & Public Administration Committee ahead of consideration of their budget report in private session today, explains the key issues involved in the decision and rebuts claims that changing the social care pay calculation is a reasonable choice.

It also summarises our asks of the Scottish Government, which are:

  • Return the ring-fenced funds required to uplift adult and children’s social care pay from the Real Living Wage (RLW) 2025-26 to the RLW 2026-27, without further harm to social care investment which is already too low to meet need.
  • Enter further discussion on how to reverse the decline of our sector through this budget – a move which will be essential to Scottish Government ambitions.
  • Commit to actively rebuilding trust with providers, which has been significantly damaged by how Scottish Ministers have handled this change.

Click here to download the briefing

 

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21 January 2026

“We want to work constructively with government to help meet promises made to Scotland’s citizens. Stripping resources from social care providers isn’t how we do that” 

The decision to change how the amount of money invested in social care pay next year is calculated will mean even less funds for the frontline, writes Rachel Cackett 

Each time I think the social care sector cannot be more overlooked and undervalued by Scottish Government finance decisions, I am surprised.   

These are not the sort of surprises I welcome. 

What has been emerging from the shadows of the Scottish Budget over recent days, and is now in the public domain, is that the Scottish Government has made a decision, without reference to anyone, to change how it has calculated the amount of money it is investing in social care pay next year for organisations like those I represent – not for profits delivering public care and support services. And the result of this change would be less money to the frontline of social care and support.  

This seems to be a deeply cynical accounting move, hidden in all the budget papers, to strip resources from core providers outside of the public sector whilst claiming to meet a policy objective.

The organisations affected are already delivering essential taxpayer-funded public services to their communities with too little investment.   

I am dumbfounded.  

And, at first, I could not make sense of this move. 

First, the government, in not being upfront in this, has massively damaged trust with a sector it needs to rely on to keep the wheels on the bus now and support reform. My members are at their wits’ end, having heard this news after everything else they have been asked to endure. 

Second, we have privately spent the last year sharing information with the Scottish Government about how fragile our sector is. In real detail. Ministers cannot say they don’t know. So why insert this amount of additional risk into a sector that is already under unprecedented pressure for what we think is around £19m in 2026-27 – a tiny percentage of the overall Scottish Budget? 

Third, Shona Robison said in the chamber today (and I paraphrase) that the government has decided it will not fund commissioned social care providers to meet statutory obligations to pay the new national living wage. This is either a fundamental misunderstanding of how social care services delivering public services are funded or a terrible justification of a retrograde move. Of course employers have to cover their obligations but in commissioned services (and this under-the-radar policy change only applies to these) the costs of employment are part of a contract. What other money does the Cabinet Secretary think is available to CCPS members to cover the gap? They aren’t supermarkets able to pass on cost increases to consumers. The government has had a policy to fund at least the RLW in commissioned services and it seems to have just ripped that up.  

Fourth, public service reform and the management of current crises – such as the appalling situation for people whose hospital discharge is delayed – depends on social care to turn things around.  This re-profiling in the budget will further destabilise our sector, impacting jobs and pay yet more negatively – and putting even more pressure on the wider public sector and families who need to step into care. Why make worse those areas where the government is already under pressure for not delivering? 

Fifth, the Scottish Government has put child poverty and the economy at the heart of its priorities. This change – small for government in the context of the full Scottish Budget – will have massive repercussions for staff who are already underfunded by the government’s own pay policy. Over 80% of our workforce are women. Many will have families relying on them. These are not women paid high salaries to deliver care and support to families and individuals across Scotland. These are women who the government has insisted deserve no more than the Real Living Wage, as regulated and trained professionals, to deliver key support to vulnerable people. So where is the equality or economic impact assessment from the Scottish Government from this sleight of hand move behind the budget?

And then, I am left wondering: why would the government expect our sector to accept the rhetoric of “there is no money” when hundreds of millions of new funds have been announced for other parts of our public service system in recent months? 

We all know that social care is massively underfunded. Supported people and their families know; staff know; government knows. Even before we realised what had been done to the pay uplift, the Scottish Budget and spending review were woeful for our sector and came nowhere close to what is needed to address immediate risks and drive an efficient and effective reformed system that supports people to flourish. 

With a level of cynicism I do not like to hold, I have been left wondering whether, by focusing only on this change, we are at risk of deflecting a wider discussion about much-needed investment in social care that goes far beyond the re-profiling of the Real Living Wage uplift. So, I feel I should, on behalf of my members, be really clear. 

The calculations to underpin the Scottish Government’s own pay policy for commissioned care and support must revert to previous baselines to avoid compounding untenable risks for people. We understand that is around £19m for adult and children’s services. That has to be put back in the Scottish Budget as a fundamental. 

But reverting to the previous RLW calculation is not the saving grace for the sector. That puts us back to where we all thought we were starting from last week. 

Our calls for proper recovery of workforce costs in delivering public services – including reviewing the weightings in the government’s pay policy and addressing wider on-cost pressures – remain. As do our calls to move forwards, and fully fund, sectoral bargaining. And we need to see a spending review that will address long-term stability for our sector in the face of increasing unmet need. 

We want to work transparently and constructively with the Scottish Government – as we always have and strive to do. We need each other to turn around many of the pressures faced by individuals and families across Scotland; to meet promises made to Scotland’s citizens. 

But this isn’t how we do that. 

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13 January 2026

Budget ‘does not respond to the scale of jeopardy in social care’    

Our CEO Rachel Cackett on today’s Scottish Budget statement at Holyrood

Responding to today’s Scottish Budget statement, CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett said: 

“Social care needed a real boost in today’s budget and spending review. Whilst we welcome some positive decisions around child poverty, sadly social care as a whole hardly warranted a mention in the Chamber. There is little in the accompanying documents to give shape to the major changes we – and the people of Scotland – need to see.  

While today’s budget acknowledges the need for an uplift for care staff, it continues to set their baseline pay to the Real Living Wage and no more. This is a figure we have long stated is wholly inappropriate for our highly skilled, regulated workforce and is deeply unfair when compared to higher pay settlements for staff doing equivalent work in the public sector. This decision won’t address the recruitment and retention crisis we have long told the Scottish Government is negatively impacting on services for people across Scotland. 

We also note that the Cabinet Secretary focused on adult social care pay, not mentioning uplifts for staff supporting children and young people. We seek urgent clarification on this. 

What’s more, there remains absolutely no acknowledgement of the soaring on-costs faced by not-for-profit social care employers, including from eNICs changes – costs which will increase further as salaries are increased. We continue to see no relief offered in this budget. This will further destabilise a sector which this government knows is incredibly fragile. 

The budget also leaves us with questions – and perhaps these could provide some hope. There appears to be a commitment to ‘improve wider terms and conditions for workers’, but we do not yet know what this will look like in practice. And the Cabinet Secretary mentioned further investment in delayed discharge support in social care after last week’s Audit Scotland report, but it seems both the amount and the purpose of this is not yet agreed with CoSLA. We trust that CCPS will be directly involved in shaping these developments as full system partners. 

Finally, we asked for a medium-term plan in the spending review to ensure Scotland has a sustainable social care sector which can play its part supporting people, families and communities to flourish. Here, we have seen no specific commitments at all. 

There is nothing in the budget or spending review today that seems to fully acknowledge the scale of jeopardy Scotland’s social care system currently faces. There was little cross-party focus on changing this.   

In the coming days we will further analyse the documents published, and talk to our members and partners about the impact of these investment plans – but we still hope there is space to make some different choices before the Budget Bill is passed.”  

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8 January 2026

New report shows Scottish people can’t get the best NHS care without investment in social care

CCPS is calling on the Scottish Government to prioritise increased social care investment in next week’s Budget after a report highlighted the scale of unnecessary NHS spending on delayed discharges.

The report published by Audit Scotland today estimates that over £440 million was spent in NHS Scotland last year on delayed discharge – the cost of individuals remaining in hospital despite being medically ready to leave.  

The findings of today’s report are, in large part, a symptom of the historic underfunding of Scotland’s social care system. While the reasons behind delayed discharges vary, a common reason is a lack of social care and support available when a person is ready to leave hospital.  

The report says that 720,119 hospital bed days were lost in 2024/5 due to a delayed discharge, and “the full costs to the health and social care system are likely to be much higher” than the £440 million quoted. 

But this is not just about money, it is about people who are being kept in hospital when they don’t need to be there, and the report highlights that “each delay has a detrimental effect on the individual’s physical and mental wellbeing”. 

CCPS members provide services to hundreds of thousands of individuals across Scotland, supporting disabled people, older people, people with learning disabilities, children, families and many others. 

Yet at a time when demand for the services they offer is rising, the lack of sustainable funding means far too many providers are needing to scale back the services they can offer.  

At the end of 2025, a survey conducted among our members found that nearly half of respondents had to reduce the support available in the first six months of 2025-26, negatively impacting an estimated 4,645 beneficiaries. Meanwhile, over 40% were anticipating reducing support in the second half of this year, impacting an estimated 3,858 beneficiaries. 

“While the sector has proven itself to be resilient, it is increasingly being stretched too thin, and its long-term viability now rests on sustainable social care funding to ensure both people, and our NHS, can flourish,” Rachel Cackett, CCPS CEO, said. 

“Today’s report shows that the Scottish Government’s approach to social care funding needs to change. The Budget next week offers a prime opportunity for the Scottish Government to do that, prioritising the sector and taking the first steps towards building the rights-based, sustainable system of social care Scotland needs and deserves.   

“The delayed discharge figures make it clear that the government can’t keep taking the same approach to social care funding year after year and expect a different result. We need a comprehensive plan to guarantee our sector’s long-term, sustainable funding – and to ensure people have choice and control over their care – and we need it now.” 

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3 December 2025

“We need all elected politicians to agree to stabilise our sector immediately”

CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett responds to today’s debate at Holyrood on the crisis in social care

Responding to the debate in the Scottish Parliament earlier today on the crisis in social care, CCPS’s CEO Rachel Cackett said:

“Let’s start with the upside this afternoon: we’re glad that MSPs took the time to hold a 70-minute debate today on the perilous state of social care.

“And there was agreement on some fundamentals: services for vulnerable people require urgent investment; social care staff should be valued and paid properly as the professionals they are; overseas workers are a vital part of our workforce; and social care and support is an absolutely vital part of Scotland’s economy.

“But people across Scotland are missing out on support and basic rights today – and staff are under serious pressure. They require light not heat, concerted action not rehearsed argument.

“We know there is an election coming up, but we need all elected politicians to agree to stabilise our sector immediately and help us deliver a tangible, funded plan for people in need.

“Overall, today felt like a missed opportunity in the Chamber. We cannot afford more. With the Scottish budget coming before parliament soon there is another opportunity for parties to collectively drive change for all constituents.

“At CCPS we want to play our part – bringing the voice of vital not-for-profit providers to the table – but time is short. We hope for shared resolve – and we hope that isn’t misplaced.”

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24 November 2025

Better Futures Transitions from CCPS to CDPSoft for Next Phase of Growth

Scotland’s outcome-focused support tool moves forward with longstanding technology partner

The Better Futures logo: an orange and yellow sun sits behind a post with signs pointing in different directions. Below this, purple text reads 'better futures'.

Since its creation in 2011 as an outcomes-monitoring tool for housing support providers, the Better Futures programme has been delivered by the Housing Support Enabling Unit, hosted by the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), with backing from the Scottish Government. 

Through HSEU’s leadership and collaboration with service providers, Better Futures has become established as a nationally recognised system for outcome-focused support planning and case management. It is widely used across Scotland to support individuals, track progress, and evidence impact.

The delivery of Better Futures is now transitioning to CDPSoft, the long-standing technology partner behind the platform. The change has been planned for and builds on the strong foundations laid by HSEU and CCPS, ensuring continuity for current users while opening the door to continued development, support, and growth.

There will be no disruption to the Better Futures service. Current users can continue to access Better Futures without any change to the system’s functionality or data management. CDPSoft will manage all future contracts, system enhancements, and customer support, with a full transfer of Better Futures to CDPSoft, scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2026. 

CDPSoft will also introduce wider functionality, allowing organisations to do more than ever before, such as enhanced case management, risk management and safeguarding, client support, multi-agency collaboration, homelessness prevention and relief, and local authority commissioning.

The Scottish Government remains supportive of the programme, and CDPSoft is committed to working with it, existing Better Futures users, local authorities, and third-sector providers to ensure the system evolves in line with national and local priorities.

Rachel Cackett, Chief Executive Officer of CCPS, said:

“We’re proud of our record over the past 14 years developing and delivering Better Futures through the CCPS-hosted Housing Support Enabling Unit. Better Futures makes a vital contribution as a measuring tool for housing support providers throughout Scotland. However, it’s now time for a new beginning, and after a long period of positive collaboration with CDPSoft, we’re very pleased that Better Futures will transfer to them and that they are keen to take an enhanced role in delivering for customers.” 

Keirron Goffe, Senior Manager, Customer Development at CDPSoft, said:

“Better Futures has become an essential tool for outcome-focused support, and we’re honoured to take on its continued delivery. We look forward to working closely with existing partners to sustain what’s working well, while exploring new ways the platform can evolve to meet changing needs across the sector.”

This transition marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Better Futures – building on its strong foundations in Scotland while drawing on CDPSoft’s experience supporting services across the entire UK to improve progress and enhance outcomes for individuals and communities.

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