Controversial plans to create a National Care Service in Scotland are "hard for me to get my head around", the SNP minister responsible has admitted.
Maree Todd faced MSPs at the Scottish Parliament's health committee today for the first time since Humza Yousaf announced the scheme was being delayed.
The National Care Service was initially branded as a way to improve standards in care homes across the country after multiple failings were exposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
But firm details on how it will work - with care provision currently split between local authorities and the private sector - have so far remained elusive.
Opposition parties and trade unions have repeatedly warned the scheme represents a powergrab by the Scottish Government which could see councils lose responsibility for tens of thousands of staff.
SNP ministers have pledged themselves to “co-design” the service after a framework Bill is finally passed by MSPs.
Following Humza Yousaf’s election as First Minister, the first parliamentary vote on the Bill was pushed until after the summer recess.
Todd has now pledged to seek the views of those impacted by the Bill in the intervening months.
"I think this pause does offer us an opportunity to put a little bit more meat on the bones and for people to understand better what the ambition is and what the detail around that ambition is, and how it’s going to look," she said.
“I think it’s such a different way of doing things that it’s been a little bit hard for everybody – I’ll admit it’s been a little bit hard for me to get my head around in this new portfolio.
“So I think this pause does give an opportunity to get a bit more detail, a bit more clarity, a bit more understanding, and to be very clear.”
Todd went on to say she had to do a “better job” of explaining that the NCS would be the “answer to many of the concerns” around social care in Scotland.
Another issue regularly raised about the initiative is the cost implications, with ministers reticent to say how much they estimate the project could cost.
The price tag has caused consternation with the Finance and Public Administration Committee at Holyrood, which has set a deadline of Friday for a financial memorandum to be handed over – a request the minister said would not be met.
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