THE SNP and Labour have came to blows after the government announced almost £3million in funding for the local Health and Social Care Partnership.

Cunninghame North MSP Kenneth Gibson has welcomed the funding and said that it will be used towards help with social care and covering the cost of the Living Wage, but the Labour group who run North Ayrshire Council disagree.

Kenneth Gibson MSP said: “Integration of health and social care is one of the most ambitious programmes the SNP Government has undertaken and one which we believe will deliver services that work more effectively, putting people at the very heart of treatment decisions.

“That is why this £2,925,000 of additional funding for NAC is so important. Not only does it ensure that patients can receive more treatment at home where we know people prefer to be, it also reduces demand for acute hospital usage by reducing avoidable admissions, lengths of stay and delayed discharges.

“Our social care system is world renowned and envied across the UK as a shared priority between the SNP Government and local government. Whilst spending has been boosted in Scotland, this is in direct contrast to the situation in England under the Tories and Wales under Labour where six consecutive years of cuts to local authority budgets have seen 26 per cent fewer people across both nations get the help they need.”

Health and social care integration requires close collaboration between secondary, primary and community care through integration authorities.

Partnerships are required to plan locality services and are able to use money flexibly to secure positive outcomes by moving resources from hospital to community and primary services as necessary.

The council’s cabinet member for social care hit back at the MSP and said that although the money was welcomed it wasn’t helping address the pressures of the HSCP.

Councillor Peter McNamara, Portfolio holder for Health and Social Care said: “This funding, although welcome, comes with additional expenditure requirements. Not one penny of this funding will help address the pressures in the HSCP such as the waiting lists for care at home.

“The fact is that Mr Gibson’s own Cabinet Secretary has given local authorities the green light to cut their financial contribution to HSCPs by £80million. That is a green light to cut £2.5million in North Ayrshire. That is the real story in terms of social care from the draft budget and is a clear admission from the SNP Government that they are dumping cuts onto councils, the effects of which will be on social care, housing and roads.”

Iona Colvin, Chief Officer of North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership, said: “The funding of £2.925m is very welcome and will be used towards meeting the existing commitment to the third and independent sector of the increased cost of the Scottish Living Wage, from £8.25 to £8.45 per hour.

“However, initial calculations show that the full cost to the North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership of meeting that commitment is £3.062m.

“Unfortunately, this means the Partnership will be unable to use this additional money to increase capacity at a time when we face increasing demands for our services.”