​Susan Smith says a debate on the future of social care services in Scotland must accept that quality services cannot be provided on the cheap

Councils have made significant savings by outsourcing social care services to private and third sector providers, yet these organisations are unable to run the services on the funding they get.

This is not one of the headline conclusions of Audit Scotland’s report into social work in Scotland this week, but one that will jump out to third sector staff and providers.

The third sector has known for some time that something needs to change. Alzheimer Scotland just this week announced it is to launch a new social care social enterprise after facing up to the fact that its current care at home service is financially unworkable.

Social care staff are crucial to good-quality care and for too long they’ve been treated appallingly

Half of Scotland’s social work budget is outsourced to the private and third sectors, yet third sector social care bodies are constantly reforming their approaches and seeking efficiencies just to survive.

Audit Scotland’s report predicts the cost of running services will increase by £667 million (up by 20%) in less than five years if nothing changes. One reason for this increase is the Scottish Government dictum that social care staff should be paid the national living wage.

Well, of course they should – social care staff are crucial to good-quality care and for too long they’ve been treated appallingly. Staff have been surviving on minimum wage zero hours contracts that don’t cover the cost or time of travel between appointments, for example. This report highlights the problems that independent providers have in recruiting staff – nobody enters a career in social care to provide a rushed, half-hearted 10 minute visit.

The integration of health and social care and the advent of self-directed support are resulting in a more complex system of governance and finance for social care, but also lead to rising standards. Paying staff the national living wage and getting rid of zero hours contracts will also do this. This is positive step for our society as a whole, but one that is not free.

This report’s top recommendation is the instigation of a frank and wide-ranging debate about the long-term future of social work and social care. This echoes a call made earlier this summer by a coalition of charities led by Independent Living in Scotland.

This debate must begin at once, and while we hope it will uncover innovative and effective new ways of providing services, it must also face up to the fact that quality social care costs money and that driving down costs drives down standards.

Susan Smith is editor of Third Force News.