National Insurance hike has forced closure of at least five Scottish care homes

The UK Labour Government’s National Insurance hike has been blamed for the closure of at least five adult social care services in Scotland in the last month.

On Wednesday, Scotland’s social care minister Maree Todd warned that more care service closures are likely to follow.

“We cannot stand by and allow the care sector to be sacrificed,” Todd said.

“Without swift action from the UK Government, I fully anticipate that more care services will close and there will be areas of Scotland without access to social care.”

Todd added: “For some, this will mean difficulty securing care home placements, or individuals being cared for many miles from their family, friends and communities. That is not a future I want to see.”

Calling the increases a “nightmare” for the care sector, Todd said she has been notified of five social care services in the last month alone that are closing “where increases of National Insurance were a major contributing factor”.

She said the closures will result in the loss of more than 80 care home beds.

“The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively, constructively, and proactively to support the sector in the face of substantial risk, but there’s only so much we can do,” Todd said.

Todd accused the UK Labour Government of being “intent on delivering blow after blow to social care”.

In October 2024, Westminster announced its decision to increase the rate of employer’s National Insurance contributions from 13.8% to 15%.

The Government also reduced the threshold above which contributions should be paid from £9,100 to £5,000.

Todd claimed that the National Insurance changes would cost the adult social care sector more than £84m.

More recently, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced immigration proposals that would put an end to new visas for migrant social care workers – which his critics have said the sector is reliant on.

Todd told the Scottish Parliament that all of these decisions are having a detrimental impact on Scottish health and social care.

“It’s like the UK Government decided to make social care provision as hard as possible,” she said.

However, Todd was criticised by opposition parties in the chamber for ignoring the SNP Government’s role in social care sector challenges.

Tory MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane accused Todd of “passing the buck” and “failing to accept responsibility”.

“The SNP have failed the sector for almost two decades with a lack of workforce planning, a lack of proper investment and failures to end delayed discharge,” he said.

“We have less adult care homes, with 250 closing under this SNP gov. The SNP have also wasted £30m on its failed National Care Service.”

Scottish Lib-Dem leader Alex Cole Hamilton added: “There is no doubt that the Labour government’s decisions have dealt a huge blow to social care. But people are fed up with the SNP pretending that they haven’t done any damage either.”

Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie also criticised the SNP’s decision to shelf £30m plans for a National Care Service.

Instead of responding directly to the National Care Service criticisms, Todd hit back at UK Labour for being an “increasingly unrecognisable party of austerity cuts, Brexit, and hostile immigration policies”.