‘Deeply troubling’: £100okay Nationwide Care Service contract awarded to consultancy agency
The Scottish Trade Unions Council (STUC) criticized the award of the contract to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and accused the company of a “selfish interest in privatized supply”.
The establishment of a National Care Service is an important policy of the Scottish Government for the upcoming term in Holyrood, which is expected to be fully established by 2026.
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FMQs: Nicola Sturgeon Says Misogyny Culture Becomes a “Watershed Moment”PricewaterhouseCoopers has won a £ 100,000 contract to help shape the National Care Service
PricewaterhouseCoopers has won a £ 100,000 contract to help shape the National Care ServiceNicola Sturgeon said the reform was a “fitting legacy of the trauma of Covid” and the “most significant public service reform” since the NHS was established.
However, the planned service has been criticized by the councils for robbing the powers of local authorities while others said the plans will not see an NHS-style service that is free at the point of use.
Work within the government on the National Care Service is still at an early stage, with consultation on the plans opened to the public in August and ending in November.
As part of the PwC contract – in which the consultancy was the only bidder – the company will be working on a plan to set up an “Agile Design Team for the National Care Service” and a “High-Level Roadmap for Design Milestones”.
The company is also asked to create a “Stakeholder Map and Strategy” that outlines “the key contact and sponsorship teams required to design and develop business cases”.
In response, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said it was not clear why the public service expertise was not being used.
She said, “Although this is just a small contract, the beginning is important.
“We will vigorously oppose any step in outsourcing the important project of creating a National Care Service to companies with a legitimate interest in privatized care.
“We find that there was only one bidder for the contract. We also see no reason why the skills and know-how of directly employed civil servants are not used.
“South of the border, the consulting company has continued to develop over the past year, with massive contracts being awarded to companies with clear interests in the provision of public services by the private sector. We don’t want this to happen again in Scotland. “
Scottish Labor health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie also criticized the contract.
She said: “It is deeply troubling to see that this contract to shape the National Care Service is being handed over to a single private sector bidder.
“Serious questions need to be asked about the procedure surrounding the tendering of the contract and why only one private organization has formalized an offer.
“But perhaps more importantly, why is there a lack of expertise in the public sector – in health and social services or in the civil servants’ army in Edinburgh?
“If we are to have a National Care Service worthy of the name, the focus must be on those in need, social workers, the third sector, and experts.”
The Scottish Government has been asked to comment.
