Brexit has led to a labour force shortage that is affecting social care services in Glasgow, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister said that the crisis in the haulage industry and private sector is also hitting health and care services.

She said there was a need to get more people working in the social care services as Glasgow’s health and Social Care Partnership suspended day care services in the city due to staff shortages.

Sturgeon said the HSCP has assured the government that the suspension is temporary and will be re-instated as soon as possible.

Some day care services have been suspended for three weeks as staff from day care have been diverted to plug shortages in care homes.

The HSCP said “services are currently under significant pressure".

Pam Duncan-Glancy, Labour MSP for Glasgow, asked the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament how the Government was responding tot eh suspension and said cuts to council budgets have made the situation worse.

Glasgow Times:

She said: “There is a crisis in social care recruitment” and added the “Government’s continued year-on-year underfunding of local authorities and social care has impacted on vacancies and the pay that is available.”

She asked what action is the Government taking to tackle the crisis, including “the grossly unfair low pay” in the sector.

The First Minister said the situation as likely to get worse.

She said: “We face a shortage of labour in this country that is affecting haulage companies and many aspects of the private sector. We all have to recognise that it is affecting our health and care sector, too, and that is likely to be exacerbated in the coming period.”

She said the wider staffing crisis was a result of Brexit.

Sturgeon added: “It is one of the impacts of decisions that have been taken over recent years that will cause difficulty for us in the coming months. We all have to recognise that and resolve to do everything that we can to overcome it.”