MSP wants more data on £8bn care budget
A POWERFUL Holyrood committee have slammed the “unacceptable” lack of information about the £8billion budget spent by Scotland’s new health and social care bodies.
MSPs on the health committee complained there is “little by the way of information on the financial position” of the 31 Integration Authorities, which were set up last year to provide more integrated care from hospital to home.
They are now responsible for more than £8billion of funding for local services.
Committee convener Neil Findlay said there were concerns that increasing bureaucracy meant different agencies can “blame each other for the lack of progress with integration”.
He said: “There’s a distinct lack of data to identify and evaluate outcomes, including spending and savings. This would be unacceptable for any public money, let alone £8billion.”
He spoke out after a new report from the committee said there was “no breakdown of this figure to individual integration authority level”.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Integration is one of the most ambitious programmes of work this Government has undertaken.
“It is already delivering health and social care services that are working more efficiently.
“We will continue to monitor the budgets and effectiveness to ensure they deliver on agreed outcomes.”