Meeting of the Parliament 04 March 2026 [Draft]
I bet that funding pressures were discussed because, despite the welcome £5.7 million of support that was announced by Renfrewshire Council last week, the health and social care partnership still faces a significant budget shortfall. That means that the closure of the disability resource centre in Paisley, cuts to the autism connections programme and the merger of day centres for adults with learning disabilities are still on the table. Information from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities shows that the Scottish Government’s underfunding of social care has resulted in an estimated £497 million funding gap for integration joint boards across Scotland this year.
The decision on those vital services in Renfrewshire, which some of the most vulnerable people I represent rely on, has been conveniently pushed back to after the election in June, leaving them anxious. Given that the Government has ignored that issue in the budget, what will the minister do now to address that gap? Given the Scottish National Party’s record until now, is it not the case that, if—I emphasise the “if”—the SNP is still in power after May, it is almost certain that those service cuts will go ahead?