by Bill Heaney
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today raised the alarm over the crisis in social care as new figures revealed that there are 11,424 people currently waiting on social care assessments and care at home packages, which is almost 2,000 more people waiting than this time last year.
Figures from Public Health Scotland published today reveal:
• The number of people estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment for a package of care to enable them to live independently at home or in the community 8,050 on 5th January 2026, which is an increase of just under 30% on this time last year.
• The estimated number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package was 3,374 on 5th January 2026.
Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “At the start of the new year, these figures plainly show just how badly social care has been allowed to drift under the SNP.
“I recently raised the case of Margaret McGill with the First Minister who has been stuck in hospital for 14 months. There are thousands more like her, waiting for care packages and assessments.
“You can’t fix the NHS if social care is broken. Waits for these packages increases delayed discharge, which pushes up A&E waits and leaves ambulances queued outside hospitals.
“That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats have driven action to repair social care — securing millions more for the sector, stopping another wasteful SNP centralisation, and creating a new college route for care workers. It’s also why we want a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.”
ENDS
Notes:
The figures can be found here.
Full table showing figures in 2025 and beyond can be found here.
Top of page: Care workers demonstrating for a better deal outside West Dunbartonshire Council’s office in Church Street, Dumbarton.
Frankly carers deserve more than a £2.00 per hour rise for the excellent essential work they do.
And most folks know that if truth be told. But the councils have no money , or so they say.
But look at how the councils spend their money. Locally as an example the councilors got a 21.3% rise. And capital projects how much have they increased in price.
Looking locally the Milton road relief and industrial park scheme has risen from an initial budget of around £18m to around £50m. Or the demolition of the Artizan Way shop units from around £230k to a reported cost of over £1m. And then there is the cost of the demolition of the old post office..And nowwhat now are we left with – fenced off eyesore site.and restricted parking.
Or the new library on the High Street. Over six months late and horrendously over the initial price. Word is that the cost per square metre of footprint is more than the Guigenheim.
And pension contribution for staff. One advert for a solicitor was saying that with increasing holiday entitlement as service increased the council would pay up to 27% pension contribution..in a country where the average employers contribution is around 4% the council is offering gold dust pension contributions.
But the council is bust. In dire and desperate states. Effectively it has been said in special administration since the thought of councils going bankrupt cannot be countenance.
So where and how did it all go so badly wrong. Why has it gone so badly wrong. Its an interesting question because in Detroit the city council did go bust and they had to sell off city assets and take the machete to folks city hall pensions.
But in truth we probably know how bad our situation is. If you do not work and produce you cannot pay for services.
And if your country is on the production slide, where it can’t produce ships, steel or in fact manufacture much where do you go.how do you pay for the horror numbers on benefits. And locally where do you go with the blessing of the lowest percentage of level four and above tertiary educaion it maybe why our council is thecway it is. Something needs to change.
But yes, carers very much deserve a wage increase. These working poor are doing an excellent desowrately needed. They are owed a debt of gratitude. Its not right, and its most certainly not fair that they are paid such low wage rates.
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