MORE than £28 million has been spent on scoping out the SNP’s national care service (NCS), figures showed today as opposition to the proposal mounts.

A written answer to Tory MSP Craig Hoy confirmed that £28.7m had been “spent on work related to the NCS,” including with consultancy giants KPMG.

The findings came just days after the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) withdrew its support for the controversial centralising proposals, joining Unison’s Simon Macfarlane, who told MSPs last week that the government should instead turn its attention to the “failed market in social care.”

Market failure appeared to be evidenced this week by Scottish government figures showing that almost a fifth of care homes and 6 per cent of places have been lost over the last decade, while the average number of hospital discharges delayed by people awaiting social care reached a record high of 2,009 in August. 

Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie said: “Social care in Scotland is at breaking point, but the SNP is wasting time, energy and money pursuing its doomed vanity project.

“Thousands of Scots stuck in limbo waiting for care. Social care workers and people who rely on care services are suffering as a result of this crisis, but they have been forgotten in the SNP’s plans.

“The SNP must stop burying its head in the sand and listen to the experts warning that they are on the wrong track.

“More bureaucracy and centralisation won’t improve the care Scots receive. We urgently need a real plan.”

A Scottish government spokesperson responded: “These statistics provide more evidence that the social care system in Scotland needs fundamental reform.

“That is why it is essential we establish a national care service that will improve people’s lives and quality of care, while ensuring those who deliver vital services feel supported.”