The beeb Health page (and main News page) carry this piece on the different priorities given to Social Care spending in Scotland and Wales as compared to England – strangely I couldn’t see it carried on the beeb Scotland page: Link and snippets below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48438132
Health
English ‘short-changed on care funding’
By Nick Triggle Health correspondent
Public spending on care for the elderly and disabled is much higher in Scotland and Wales than England, figures show.
In England, £310 per person is spent each year on services such as care homes and home help for daily tasks such as washing and dressing.
But in Scotland, £445 is spent – 43% more than in England – and in Wales it is £414 – 33% more.
The analysis has been produced by the Health Foundation using official spending and population data.
The think-tank said the differences were “huge” and had a major impact on the care that could be provided by councils to these vulnerable groups.
Public spending per head tends to be higher in other parts of the UK than it is in England.
Economies of scale and the rural nature of Wales and Scotland are key drivers for this.
But the analysis suggests what is happening with care spending far outstrips this.
For example, health spending in Scotland is just 8% a year more than it is in England – five times less than the difference in care funding.
Anita Charlesworth, from the Health Foundation, said: “While there are differences in the populations and needs of the UK countries, this cannot possibly account for the huge differences in per head spending on publicly-funded social care.
“Considering the scale of the problem in England, it is perhaps unsurprising that the long-delayed social care green paper is still ‘forthcoming’.
“One reason governments have struggled is that any solution is expensive. But transformation is now, more than ever, needed to make the social care system fair and sustainable in the future.”
The analysis shows spending per head fell by a tenth once inflation was taken into account between 2010-11 and 2016-17 in England.
Over the six-year period spending had also fallen in Scotland and Wales, although not by as much.
In all parts of the UK, care is means-tested with people expected to contribute towards the cost of their care.
But since devolution, differences have emerged in approaches to care.
Talking-up Scotland 
Sorry. I saw those exact same figures on the ten o’clock BBC Scotland news. It was repeated, with the same correspondent on the BBC News channel an hour later.
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