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.”
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.
26 February 2025
“Success at Westminster, dismay at Holyrood. But on eNICs exemption, we are back in the running”
Rachel Cackett responds to yesterday’s vote in the House of Lords on amendments to the National Insurance Bill – and the passing of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget
So, first the good news. Last night the House of Lords voted through amendments to exempt the vast majority of the health and social care sector from catastrophic NI increases, as set out in the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill. The Lords also passed a key amendment which would make the government report on the impact of national insurance changes.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing the National Insurance Bill with MPs and engaging with peers on amendments. Many of our members have shared their own organisation’s perspectives about how the eNICs change would impact them, and the consequences for the people they support and employ. I want to thank all the members of the House of Lords who worked on and laid amendments yesterday, and every single peer who listened and voted for exemption to save social care. We can’t tell you how much your advocacy matters for social care in its time of crisis.
Yesterday’s votes give us hope, but the changes aren’t in the bag yet. Now they go back and forth between the Lords and Commons and we will need a lot of Labour MPs to stand up for what is right here, if these wins are to hold. But yesterday morning we saw no room to manoeuvre; today we are back in the running. We’ll take that for now.
In contrast to events in the Lords, yesterday the Scottish Budget was passed at Holyrood with zero commitment to eNICs cost recovery for providers from the Scottish Ministers and only cursory mentions of the sustainability crisis in our sector. This, despite us sharing compelling evidence of the disastrous consequences the policy will have for not-for-profit providers and the people they support.
Earlier this month we conducted a 24-hour survey of our member organisations. Over 50 members participated, representing a combined expenditure of over £850m, employing around 28,000 staff and supporting over 230,000 people across the whole of Scotland. Amongst the sobering responses, we learned that:
- 57% of respondents are seriously considering handing contracts back to commissioners next year
- 67% of respondents are budgeting for 2025-26 on the basis that they only expect to reach financial balance through the use of reserves. And of these providers: 91% would no longer be a going concern within four years, if they continued to reach financial balance through drawing down reserves in this way.
With an election year just over a year away, and with so much at stake for the Scottish people, we are surprised the Scottish Government seems ready to live with the consequences of choosing not to fund our sector and supported people. We are just as surprised that a new UK Labour Government chose to put the entire sector at risk through this deeply ill-judged tax, which disproportionately impacts low- paid women. Looking at headlines from the last couple of weeks from both sides of the border, it seems emergency funds can be found for other things – but not vulnerable people. It was ever thus.
But where both elected governments have failed the sector so far, the Lords have provided. So, our energy now turns back to Westminster and efforts to persuade MPs to see the value of social care – and how destructive the eNICs policy would be. There is – thanks to yesterday’s actions – still track ahead. Please, UK Labour and Rachel Reeves, don’t waste this opportunity.
2 December 2024
It’s time to give the gift of Fair Pay…
As we enter Budget season, we’ve launched a campaign urging Scottish Government to invest in the workforce and cover the costs of the NI rise
Social care staff deliver vital public services in communities across Scotland, and they should be paid more than the minimum it costs to live.
They are working in a context where public sector cuts, lack of Fair Work and impending changes to Employers’ National Insurance are risking the viability of many services.
So we’ve launched a campaign urging the Scottish Government to give them More Than Warm Words this winter.
For the 2025-26 Budget we’re calling on them to:
- Take a genuine first step towards the promise of Fair Work. Invest in our people by committing to the Real Living Wage + 10% in 2025-26, as the minimum for all frontline support staff. Stop the loss of essential workers
- Cover the full costs of ongoing eNICs changes for not-for-profit social care providers, even if Westminster won’t. Otherwise, watch services disappear, unemployment rise, unmet need increase and the NHS crisis worsen.
Across the Scottish Budget period, we’ll be sharing messages and videos from our members in support of the campaign.
We’ve sent our members, and parliamentarians, a mug emblazoned with the campaign message.
And we’ll be calling on MSPs to speak up for the social care workforce and help give them the gift of Fair Pay.
Read the Budget briefing we sent MSPs
Read our press release about the letter we sent the Chancellor on NI
Follow the campaign on our social channels with #MoreThanWarmWords
For more information about the campaign and how to take part, email of Communications & Engagement team: comms@ccpscotland.org
4 December 2023
Comment: “Social care could be the gift that keeps on giving for Scotland. But only if the government rethinks its budget”
Marking the launch of our new Rethink To 13 campaign, Rachel Cackett argues that £12 p/h for staff is too low, is ethically wrong, and flies in the face of what Scotland need to enjoy equality, opportunity and community
On the 19th December, during the last week of 2023 for the Scottish Parliament, the government will publish its draft budget.
In unprecedented times, we are hoping for something a bit different from this budget.
For years now, there have been calls for the Scottish Government to be far more transparent in setting out how its draft budget is intended to match investment to its stated priorities. This is a primary task of government: To ensure that funds raised from the public are invested in the things the democratically elected government has told us are important.
And when things are tight, justifying the allocation of too few resources to those things that a government says matters most is more important than ever.
So, perhaps the government can do something different this year.
The first minister has stated that all funding decisions must deliver against three things:
- Equality, by tackling poverty and protecting people from harm during the cost-of-living crisis
- Opportunity through a fair, green and growing wellbeing economy that can support improved living standards, reduce poverty, and sustain high quality public services, and
- Community by prioritising public services – building sustainability and reducing inequality.
So, perhaps we can expect the budget to be structured to show clearly how decisions to invest – and disinvest – will deliver these.
Perhaps, for example, we will see a commitment to the funding of sustainable social care services that support families facing poverty or destitution in the current financial climate to stay afloat, to keep a home, to feed their families and keep children in school.
Or to services that support disabled people, or people with long term health conditions – who face a myriad of daily inequities – to maintain their right to independent living and stay well in their own homes.
Or to mental health services that help prevent adults and children reaching crisis – and stop yet more people waiting too long for NHS services that just aren’t there – so that they can live connected, engaged lives as participants in work, school, family and community.
Or to the availability of social care and support for everyone who needs it so that unpaid carers can maintain jobs that can keep their families afloat.
Or to those staff in our sector, overwhelmingly women, who provide care and support to some of the most vulnerable members of my family and yours – but are paid far less than those in the public sector to do equivalent jobs simply because the government doesn’t provide enough funds.
Staff who may often work – and spend their wages – in the communities they support. Staff who are often working part time to juggle their unpaid caring responsibilities. Staff who desperately need equality, opportunity and community.
You see, social care and support – ever the Cinderella of public service investment – could be the FM’s answer this Christmas. It could be the gift that keeps on giving; the glue that binds his priorities to effective investment. But it’s only possible with a workforce to deliver it.
And there’s the issue.
Half the people who moved jobs in our sector last year left social care altogether. And the unethical approach to embedding pay inequity into public service delivery means staff continue to leave and social care isn’t always there when you, or I, or our loved ones need it.
The FM has already imposed a £12 p/h pay deal for social care and support staff in our sector next year and, sadly, we expect to see this confirmed in the draft Budget on 19 December. But this won’t help the government meet its own budget priorities; it will undermine them.
So, Scottish Government, rethink your budget.
Investing at the very least £13 p/h in 2024-25 for all social care staff in our sector is the absolute minimum that will cut it – and that only as a first step in a plan to reach parity in pay.
£12 is too low; it’s ethically wrong; and it flies in the face of what you’ve told us it matters to invest in and what many people in Scotland need to enjoy equality, opportunity and community.
Please. Rethink your budget.
#RethinkTo13