Anas Sarwar launches £1.3bn labor plans for free care for people over 65

The plans call for nearly 10,000 nursing home residents to receive more than £400 million worth of free care, as well as filling a funding gap in non-residential social care.

The move is in direct response to the SNP’s plans to create a National Care Service that centralizes care.

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Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar promised to cover the cost of social care for the elderly Scots.

Mr Sarwar is expected to tell Labor delegates: “I am proud to announce that Scottish Labor will put forward a plan to provide inpatient care to all people over 65 who need it, free of charge if needed.

“This will be the largest care reform since the introduction of free personal care. But we don’t have to wait until 2026.

“We can take steps now to ensure that all services in Scotland are free of charge when needed, providing a health and care system that people can rely on for their entire lives.

“A welfare service based on our NHS principles. This is our policy, Labor policy. Building the healthcare and social protection system of the future.”

Labour’s plans will cost at least £1.3bn, with more than £500m promised to fill the non-residential welfare funding gap identified in Derek Feely’s Social Security Review.

An additional £412m per annum will need to be raised to cover residential care costs and another £410m to raise caregiver wages to £12 an hour with a commitment to work towards a further increase to £15 at one o’clock.

This, party state, will be paid for by Barnett’s health and social impact from UK government spending.

The Scottish government is expected to receive around £1.783 billion in impact in 2022/23, another half a billion in 2023/24 and another half a billion in 2024/25.

It is this additional funding that will be used to cover the costs of providing free inpatient care.

Interested in learning more from The Scotsman political team? Check out the latest edition of our political podcast The Steamie.

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