Jobs and services at risk as Glasgow faces £34m health and social care shortfall

Health and social care services in Glasgow are facing a funding shortfall of almost £34m.

Over 20 jobs could be lost as part of plans that also include a £10m ‘service prioritisation’ programme to cover the budget gap.

Glasgow’s integration joint board (IJB), which oversees the health and social care partnership, will meet on Wednesday to set a budget for 2026/27.

Ahead of the meeting, trade unions, who are expected to hold a protest tomorrow (Tuesday), have called on IJB members to refuse to make any cuts.

Proposals set out in a report to the board, which receives its funding from the council and NHS, include £3.8m of new savings, while £10.5m is set to be taken from reserves.

The design of a ‘service prioritisation’ programme is already under way, with the unions’ warning it seeks to “slash jobs and services across the city”. They added homelessness, children and older people services are all in scope. In the upcoming financial year (26/27), it is proposed that the programme will save £10m.

Glasgow City Council has committed to covering a forecast £56m overspend on homelessness services. Councillors also agreed to provide an extra £5.4m to the IJB when they set the council’s budget last month.

The report states a funding deficit of £103m is forecast for the IJB over the next three years. It adds: “The scale of the financial challenge… remains significant.

“It has been recognised for a number of years that funding settlements are not keeping pace with the demand and inflationary pressures which are being faced within the health and social care system.”

Stuart Graham, UNISON social work convener, said: “Health and social care funding has been decimated for several years, with over £100m cut in the last three years alone.

“The response from the HSCP to this has been to create an ongoing cuts programme badged as ‘service prioritisation’. If the aims of this are met, it will fundamentally change how services are delivered in the city for the worse.

“Services are already creaking under pressure, and the response to this should not be to cut further and deeper.

“Nearly everyone understands that local government and health are underfunded. We don’t need politicians to pass austerity down through various tiers of government, we need politicians who will stand up and fight for the funding this city needs.”

Union members are set to protest outside offices at Commonwealth House on Albion Street at 12.30pm on Tuesday, March 17.

Savings options set to be presented to the board would lead to a 21.7 full-time equivalent reduction in staff, according to the report.

It adds a “range of options will be used to minimise the impact on employees”, including the non-filling of vacancies, natural turnover and redeployment of staff where appropriate.

“Where delivery cannot be delivered through these options, voluntary redundancies/early retirements may be required, and these will be considered on a case-by-case basis.”

As a result of the proposals, the board’s reserves would be “significantly below” a target level of 2% of net expenditure (around £34m). They would fall to £18.9m, which is seen as “a significant risk to the IJB”.