Church of Scotland debates social care in Scotland, 20th May 2024

Kirk members have been called on to lobby MSPs to tackle Scotland's care sector crisis, with the warning that the system is in danger of collapse.

The plea came from Rev Thom Riddell, convener of CrossReach, the Church of Scotland's social care arm, after he presented the Social Care Council report to the General Assembly of the Kirk in Edinburgh, and revealed that low pay rates were the biggest challenge to recruitment and retention of staff across the care sector.

Rev Thom Riddell warned: 'If we don’t do something about it, the care sector is going to collapse.'

Following last year's General Assembly, the Church of Scotland joined over 400 faith leaders in signing a declaration highlighting the issue of fair pay as a matter of justice, fairness and equality, while the then Moderator, Very Rev Sally Foster Fulton and staff from CrossReach and the Faith Action Leadership and others, had continued to engage with the Scottish Government over their concerns.