Scottish Greens remove support for National Care Service Bill
This morning the Scottish Green conference in Greenock overwhelmingly voted to withdraw support for the SNP’s National Care Service Bill in its current form.
The motion, which was proposed by Glasgow Green Cllr Anthony Carroll and the party’s health spokesperson Gillian Mackay MSP, called for the Bill to be radically reduced in scope to focus on increasing support and rights to those providing care, including unpaid carers.
Gillian Mackay MSP said: “The National Care Service Bill is not fit for purpose and has lost the support of trade unions and other key stakeholders.
“There are some positives within the Bill that I hope MSPs from all parties would want to see enacted. For example, giving people living in care homes the right to see and spend time with loved ones, greater support for carers to take personalised respite breaks, and greater access to advocacy and information.
"The government must radically rethink and reduce the scope of this Bill. That means focusing on increasing support and rights to those providing care, including unpaid carers. Without that fundamental change and shift in focus we cannot support it.”
Cllr Anthony Carroll said: “Councillors across the country are deeply concerned that the National Care Service as proposed will take away local accountability of social care and leave it in the hands of Scottish Ministers.
"It’s important to say we must still strive for a National Care Service worthy of that name that puts people over profit and respects local democracy, which this Bill flies in the face of.
"Greens will always stand for the empowerment of local authorities who have local expertise and knowledge. If we centralise that power with the Scottish Government on social care and social work we would see that lost.
"It is time for the Scottish Government to end the power grab on local authorities and focus solely on enhancing the rights and support for those providing care in this Bill, or see it fall.”
Emergency Motions Autumn Conference 2024 1. Withdrawal of Support for National Care Service Bill
Proposer: Cllr Anthony Carroll
Seconder: Gillian Mackay MSP
Preamble: On 27th September and 8th October 2024, COSLA and the STUC respectively announced their withdrawal of support for the National Care Service bill. Given the parliamentary arithmetic, Green MSP votes are critical to the progress or not of this bill.
After 2 years of negotiation and even before final consideration of stage 2 amendments, the SNP have lost confidence of major stakeholders.
The bill is now contrary to Green values.
This motion directs the party to respond accordingly.
Motion text: Conference notes: the failure of the SNP and Scottish Government to maintain support from councils and trade unions for the National Care Service Bill; our policies on Social Care under 7.2.19 of the PRD;
Conference believes:
That Scottish Green MSPs have striven to bring our manifesto's radical vision for structural reform to care, however Conference recognises the Scottish Government's bill for a National Care Service does not deliver that. Greens re-affirm our commitment to local accountability and delivery, and believes that the funding for re-structuring in the Scottish Government's plans could be better used to help deliver local social care services that have been under intense financial pressure;
That party policy and Green values cannot be achieved by the current untenable National Care Service Bill; that the parts of the bill worth salvaging can be progressed in a radically reduced bill which focuses on support for unpaid carers and enhanced rights for care sector workers that on balance in it's current form is now a net negative for the care sector.
Therefore: Conference agrees that our MSPs should urgently work with relevant stakeholders including Trade Unions and Local Authorities who have raised concerns, and in some cases oppose the bill, about the NCS to radically reduce the bill's scope, instead making it one that focuses on increasing support and rights to those providing care, including unpaid carers.
If the re-scoping of the bill focusing on enhancing support & rights for those providing care is unable to achieve consent from key stakeholders & Parliament, and the bill is presented as it stands, then Conference instructs Green MSPs to vote to oppose the National Care Service Bill.