Meeting of the Parliament 18 December 2025 [Draft]
Many of those issues were discussed yesterday at a meeting between ministers and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to address the significant challenges that we face in relation to delayed discharge. Some of that is about the capacity that exists in local communities and the number of staff who are available. As Jackie Baillie will know, we have very low levels of unemployment in Scotland—significantly lower than the rest of the United Kingdom—and vacancies in social care in the provision of packages at local level.
The Government has a keen interest in resolving the issue, because that will reduce pressure in our hospitals, which have been experiencing acute challenges because of the rise in flu admissions, although, thankfully, it looks as though that increase is slowing. The Government is working with local authorities to ensure that we have the support in place to meet the needs that Jackie Baillie has raised with me.