Why fair funding for social care is a matter of tax justice

By Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive, Scottish Care

Tax Justice Scotland is seeking to promote a better conversation on tax policy. As such, the views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Tax Justice Scotland and its diverse supporters.

Across Scotland, social care is under immense pressure. Every day, skilled staff support older people and those living with disability, illness or frailty, sustaining individuals, families and communities. Yet the system is stretched close to breaking point. If Scotland wants everyone to live with dignity, independence and connection, we must face a truth: good care costs money. How we raise, distribute and account for that money is therefore a question of tax justice.

The hidden subsidy keeping Scotland’s care system afloat

For years, Scotland’s care sector has carried the consequences of public underinvestment. Many providers operate at the margins of viability, while pay and conditions too often fail to reflect the skill and value of care work. Services survive despite, not because of, the way they are funded.

This fragility is often hidden by goodwill: families filling gaps, care workers going the extra mile, and providers determined to keep delivering. But goodwill is not a financial strategy. It cannot pay wages, expand capacity, or fund training, technology and safe staffing.

Scottish Care has long argued that social care is being propped up by invisible subsidies: unpaid emotional labour, providers absorbing risk, and commissioning budgets that do not recognise true care costs. That is not justice and it is not sustainable.

Funding must follow promise

Politicians have rightly spoken about Fair Work, sectoral bargaining and the moral imperative to value care properly. But a promise without funding is only a headline. Fair Work needs recurring, realistic investment that meets the real cost of safe, high-quality care delivered to national standards.

A just tax system must enable government to keep the commitments it makes. If Scotland promises dignity, choice and personalised support, then fiscal policy must be shaped so those promises can be honoured. Social justice and fiscal justice cannot be separated.

The Care Creates campaign: re-imagining care as a public value

Scottish Care’s campaign, Care Creates, sets out six themes central to reform:

• Human Rights – recognising that access to quality care is a rights issue, not a discretionary service.
• Fair Work, Fair Pay, Fair Care – placing staff value at the heart of sustainable services.
• Integration that works – ensuring health and care are properly aligned around people, not institutions.
• Future-Ready Care – using innovation and technology to improve lives rather than cut corners.
• Investing in Care – acknowledging that care is an economic generator, not a drain.
• Climate-Conscious Care – building models that are resilient, local and sustainable.

These themes require more than ideas: they demand infrastructure, people, training and long-term funding. A modern, rights-based care system cannot be built on yesterday’s budgets.

Tax justice is care justice

A fair taxation system enables the services that help society flourish. Social care delivers clear collective benefit:

• It enables people to stay well, independent, active and connected.
• It supports unpaid carers, preventing burnout and poverty.
• It sustains local economies as one of Scotland’s largest employers.
• It reduces pressure on the NHS, preventing unnecessary admissions and speeding hospital discharge.

Underfunding social care does not save money; it shifts costs and harm elsewhere.

Tax justice means treating care as a foundation of a fair society, not optional spending. It means those with the most contribute proportionately, so people who need support can live with dignity. It also means transparency about how public money flows through commissioning systems, and honesty about what care truly costs.

Towards a public conversation about what care is worth

To move beyond crisis funding, short-term uplifts and emergency support, Scotland needs an honest conversation about what we value and what we are willing to pay for it. Other countries have taken bold steps- dedicated care levies, long-term investment plans and ring-fenced funding for ageing populations. Scotland must be no less ambitious.

As we approach political change, there is a rare opportunity to align fiscal choices with social values. Care creates thriving communities, resilient families and good jobs. It is time our tax system reflected that reality.

Social care is not a cost to be restrained; it is an investment in the society we want to live in.