SOCIAL care risks becoming “irreparably broken” without extra support in tomorrow’s Scottish Budget, Unite has warned.

The sector could pass a “point of no return” without urgent Scottish government intervention to prevent further job losses, the union said.

A significant portion of the £440 million spent by NHS Scotland on beds for patients who were unable to leave despite being ready for discharge last year could also have been avoided if social care services in Scotland were properly and adequately funded, said the union.

One in nine hospital beds were occupied because of delayed discharges in the 12 months to April 2025, according to Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The Scottish government has a clear choice to support front-line social care before the system becomes irreparably broken. 

“It’s time for the politicians to back our social care workers and that only comes through investment in people and services.”  

Meanwhile Scottish TUC has urged the Scottish government to prioritise the “people of Scotland and not political survival” in the Budget, calling for “bold decisions” on reforming property, land and wealth taxes, and to avoid “short-term electioneering.”