Scottish council leaders have called for Nicola Sturgeon’s government to suspend its plans for a new national care service, in a growing battle over funding.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), the umbrella body for the country’s 32 councils, said setting up the service would be unjustifiably costly and disruptive during a time of financial crisis.

Scottish ministers argue that it would produce the biggest and most valuable improvement in public services since the establishment of the NHS in 1947, by merging social care, elderly care, family support and community healthcare into a single service.

But the proposals, which could be replicated in England if Labour wins the next general election, have been widely criticised for being poorly thought through, very costly and much more unwieldy than ministers admit.

A cross-party committee at Holyrood expressed “significant concern” in early December about its setup and running costs, and whether it would be genuinely cost-effective. Ministers estimate it could cost between £664m and £1.26bn to establish over the next five years.

Scotland’s councils, many of which are run by the Scottish National party, are furious the measures are being pursued after being told to expect a significant real-terms funding cut from April.

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