The Scottish Government has once again been accused of “squandering” public money after it was revealed that work on its much-delayed flagship National Care Service (NCS) has cost a staggering £17m. This was an idea put forward by Nicola Sturgeon to reform and centralise the care sector.

But since its creation it has run up a huge bill with no finish line in sight as the plans have been changed numerous times. It was meant to be introduced by the end of the 2026 parliamentary term but this has been pushed back to 2028-29.

he original proposals were also estimated to cost between £644m and £1.26bn over five years, which includes the set-up costs. Critics of the SNP have repeatedly urged the administration to drop the plans due to the bureaucracy involved, with councils also complaining about it being centralised and taken out of their control.

Health minister Maree Todd confirmed that a huge £17.4m had been spent on preparations for the policy as of November, with a £9.77m cost in this financial year alone. She also confirmed that 160 full-time equivalent civil servants had been working on the policy.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Environment Matters