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Research calls for doubling of investment in adult social care in Scotland

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 31st January 2023
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Research by the Scottish Women's Budget Group (SWBG) highlights the need for £6.8bn of investment per year whilst creating 75,000 new jobs.

The briefing, ‘Towards a transformative universal adult social care support service for Scotland‘, builds on the SWBG’s long-standing calls for greater investment in social care. It includes two prospective scenarios – a core scenario, and transformative change.

In the core scenario, the briefing assumes an increase in coverage of about 20% to address current unmet need, extending free social care to all types, and raising pay to £12.50 an hour. This results in an estimated investment of approximately £5.1bn per year, an increase £1.56bn above the current levels of investment, approximately 20,000 new jobs, as well as an estimated return of £500mn in tax revenues, equivalent to 34% of the additional investment.

For the transformative change option, pay would increase to £15.21 per hour, stated to be equivalent to Nordic levels in relation to nurses’ pay. It would also make care more accessible to people who require moderate support. Overall investment would reach £6.82bn a year, almost double current levels, creating 75,000 new jobs, and an estimated £1.5bn return in tax revenues, about 46% of the additional investment.

The highly gendered nature of the social care workforce is also emphasised in the briefing. Increased investment in the sector, particularly in the form of higher wages, would be a significant step towards addressing embedded gender inequalities in pay and employment.

The SWBG argue that care should be at the forefront of the recovery from both the pandemic and cost of living crisis. Additional funding necessary to pursue this investment would require significant political will, backed up by potential additional forms of revenue, possibly including granting substantive borrowing powers to the Scottish Parliament.

You can read the full report on the Scottish Women’s Budget Group website.

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