Tag: new report

Committee alarmed by “climate of fear” around dominant firms in UK music industry

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should launch a full market investigation into the live music industry before the end of 2026, says the Commons Business and Trade Committee in new report.

The Committee concludes that for Live Nation, and possibly wider in the live music market, there are concerns against all three of the CMA factors for determining market dominance.

After a public outcry in 2024 over the way Oasis reunion concert tickets had been marketed, a CMA investigation found that Ticketmaster had misled consumers and used unclear ticketing practices.

Ticketmaster initially refused to subject themselves to public scrutiny by the Committee but ultimately appeared in Parliament in February 2025, returning with their parent company Live Nation in June 2025.

The Committee was left with serious concerns about the state of competition in the live music industry in the UK.  

Live Nation Executive President Phil Bowdery explained away the company’s large market share in arenas and stadia, saying “we are very good at what we do. Therefore, there is interest from the major artists to be with Live Nation.” But evidence submitted to this inquiry suggests an alternative explanation for Live Nation’s dominant position.

A call for written evidence elicited 45 submissions, with a significant proportion requesting to submit anonymously or confidentially for fear of reprisal: in itself this triggered alarm about whether Live Nation has a dominant and controlling market position, and the climate of fear this may have created in the industry.Concerns

Concerns raised in evidence include:

  • The scale and integrated nature of Live Nation’s business model make it difficult for artists and managers to operate independently of its ecosystem.
  • This can begin right at the point of artist entry into the industry from grassroots level, with concentration at arena, stadium and major festival level reduce opportunities for independent promoters and venues to access and scale artists through the wider touring circuit. 
  • The same problems are reported by smaller and independent festivals who find access to talent increasingly challenging.
  • The lack of uptake of an industry led levy on arena and stadium tickets to support the grassroots sector – as suggested in 2024 by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and endorsed by Government – has been widely attributed to Live Nation not implementing the levy.
  • Live Nation uses long-term agreements with restrictive exclusivity terms that make access to its venues contingent on participation in its festivals (or vice versa), incentivising artists to consolidate touring arrangements with the company and reducing opportunities for competing promoters and events.
  • Independent promoters alleged that venues owned or controlled by Live Nation favour in-house promotion businesses and integrated ticketing arrangements impeding competition.    
  • In primary ticketing, Live Nation directly controlled 58% of the 23.1 million tickets on sale in 2025, increasing to 66% if sales controlled by its affiliate companies are included.     
  • In secondary ticketing, the Committee received evidence indicating the restriction of resale activity to Ticketmaster’s own resale platform.
  • This control of ticketing infrastructure – some evidence alleged that even where third-party ticket agents participate in sales, they are required to integrate their systems with Ticketmaster’s – allows the company to retain customer data even from competitors, which can then be leveraged across promotion, marketing and event operations.

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “Britain’s live music scene is one of our great national success stories, from grassroots venues nurturing new talent to world-class arena and stadium tours that attract global audiences.

“But the evidence we received during this inquiry points to deep concerns about whether competition in the industry is now working fairly for fans, artists, venues and independent promoters.

“What particularly alarmed the Committee was not just the scale of Live Nation’s market position across promotion, venues and ticketing, but the climate of fear we encountered during this inquiry.

“A striking number of submissions requested anonymity because people were worried about the consequences of speaking openly. That alone raises profound questions about the health of competition in the market.

“The CMA should now launch a full market investigation, before the end of this year, so there can be proper scrutiny of whether consumers, artists and independent businesses are getting a fair deal.”

Ofcom is failing to drive fast enough improvements to national postal service, says Committee

In a report today the Commons’ Business and Trade Committee says Ofcom has failed to change Royal Mail’s “unacceptable” performance amid fears it is “not up to the job” of regulating a postal market that is growing in competition and complexity.

Despite incurring Ofcom fines every year since 2022, Royal Mail continues to fail to meet both the public’s expectations and its own regulated targets.

Overall letter volumes have dropped dramatically, and parcel competitors like Amazon are able to “hive off profits” using the universal postal service:  delivering parcels to harder to reach addresses without contributing to the cost of the Royal Mail infrastructure that serves them.

From April 2025 to January 2026, just 74.9% of First Class mail was delivered the next day (18.1 percentage points below the target).  The Committee estimates that this translates into approximately 126 million First Class letters arriving late over the year.

In 2025, 16 million people (29% of UK adults) experienced letter delays over Christmas, a 50% increase since 2024. 5.7 million people (10% of UK adults) missed vital letters, including those about health appointments, fines and benefit decisions.

Ofcom has failed to provide Parliament with the concrete numbers of letters being delivered late, saying Royal Mail refused them on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. The Committee says if such a prohibition actually exists, it should be changed.  

When asked to conduct a proper investigation into whether Royal Mail letter deliveries are being deprioritised in favour of more profitable parcels, Ofcom appears to have satisfied itself with obtaining copies of the relevant policy documents and meeting minutes.

The Committee says Ofcom must deliver better regulation of the postal market, including Access mail and services delivered by Royal Mail’s competitors.

If it fails to do so within six months of this Report, the Secretary of State should consult on statutory changes “to ensure it is fit for the 21st-century postal market”.

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “Millions of people are paying the price for a postal service that is simply not delivering.

“Hospital appointments missed, benefit decision notices delayed, fines arriving too late to challenge: these are not minor inconveniences, and they are the consequences of a national service failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect.

“Despite years of fines and missed targets, Royal Mail’s performance remains unacceptable and Ofcom has failed to drive the change that is needed at the pace that is needed. We were deeply concerned by the apparent lack of any serious investigation into whether letters are being deprioritised in favour of more profitable parcels.

“We recognise that the postal market has changed beyond recognition. Major logistics firms are effectively hiving off profits while relying on Royal Mail’s universal service network to reach harder-to-serve parts of the country.  

“The universal service remains one of Britain’s great civic guarantees. But confidence in it is ebbing away, and Ofcom now has six months to prove it has the power and drive to regulate the 21st-century postal market.”

 Long ED waiting times in Scotland could take generations to recover if the issue isn’t a political priority

ROYAL COLLEGE of EMERGENCY MEDICINE RELEASES NEW REPORT

Without a sustained political focus on reducing extreme long waits in Scotland’s Emergency Departments, it could take more than 200 years to reduce the number of people enduring these waits down to levels seen in 2016.  

That’s the warning from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine following new analysis published today (24 March). 

Last year, more than 75,077 people waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from major EDs in Scotland.  

While this number is an ever so slight improvement from 2024 (76,510), at the current rate (a reduction of 1.8% a year) it would take 237 years to reduce these extreme long waits to their 2016 levels (1,005). 

These statistics and latest analysis are contained in RCEM’s ‘State of Emergency Medicine in Scotland’ report, published today. It sets out what patients and staff faced in Emergency Departments across the country last year, including the very real impact long waits are having on patients.  

Further analysis for the previous year (2025) reveals of those patients who waited 12 hours or more, 58,870 were waiting to be admitted to a hospital ward for further care.  

Using the Standard Mortality Ratio – a method which calculates that there will be one additional (excess) death for every 72 patients that spend eight–12-hours in ED prior to their admission – RCEM conservatively estimates that there were 818 associated excess deaths related with long waiting times in 2025. 

That’s the lives of 16 people lost every week. And remains unchanged from the previous year. 

Dr Jayne McLaren, RCEM’s Vice Chair in Scotland, said: “It’s deeply concerning, and put bluntly, a national disgrace, that over the course of a year, there has been no meaningful improvement in the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in Emergency Departments across the country. 

“A small reduction of just over 1,400 patients waiting this long in the space of a year is nothing to celebrate. Because look at the sheer scale who still waited this long – 75,077. These are people not just numbers. And more often than not, they would’ve experienced this extreme wait on a trolley in a corridor, or another inappropriate space that was never designed to deliver care in.  

“But what’s most upsetting, as an Emergency Medicine consultant, whose whole profession is to help people in their time of need, is seeing how many people died because of the system not working as it should. 

“Ultimately, because there wasn’t an inpatient bed for them when they needed to be moved to a ward.  

“People are losing their lives. And today’s figures suggest that the same number of people died in association with long waits as in 2024.  

“This is a conservative estimate too. We know there may well be many more tragic deaths linked to long stays because this methodology only applies to one group of patients. 

“That needs to spark anger and upset from those in power to bring about the changes that are desperately needed in our hospital system.  

“Our State of Emergency Care report should serve as essential reading for ministers, NHS leaders and policymakers. It sets out clear, practical recommendations to make our emergency care system something that we can be proud of once again.  

“Patients, and those working within our Emergency Departments deserve so much better – a service that is safe, timely, and fit for purpose.”   

rcem-reportDownload

Costs of Cairngorm Funicular may outweigh benefits, warns Committee

Concerns have been raised about whether the cost to monitor and repair the Cairngorm Funicular could outweigh the benefits to the local and national economy. This stark warning comes from a new report issued today by the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee.

The report follows the Committee’s look at the funding and operation of the troubled funicular.

Opened in 2001 at a cost of £19.5 million, the funicular was closed for four years from September 2018 due to issues with the track. It briefly opened again in 2023 before closing once more for further repairs. It finally reopened in February 2025.

During this time, ownership of the funicular has moved into public hands with Cairngorm Mountain Ltd, a company owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Now, with costs of over £16 million to reinstate the funicular and a reliance on public finance, the Committee has raised concerns about whether the costs of regular monitoring and maintenance may become disproportionate to its benefit.

The Committee has also called on the Scottish Government to be more transparent about its plans for the funicular and to ensure that the project remains value for money.

During the Committee’s consideration, there was also frustration about the level of information available to the Committee to take a judgment on HIE’s decision-making on the future of the funicular.

The report now calls on HIE to make significant improvement in this area as well as ensuring that the governance arrangements in place for the funicular are be simplified and made more transparent.

Speaking as the report launched, Committee Convener Richard Leonard MSP said: “It is safe to say that the Cairngorm Funicular has had a somewhat troubled history, with repeated and lengthy closures and requiring significant public investment.

“This Committee has heard from those in charge of the funicular, the public bodies supporting it, those living and working in the area and nature conservation activists. We have heard both optimism and scepticism about what comes next. And it presents a picture of concern for us that the future benefits are not as clear as they ought to be.

“There also needs to be a much more transparent governance structure in place for the running of the funicular. A simplified structure would allow for better public scrutiny of public money and decisions on the future plans for the Cairngorm Mountain resort.”

“Out of control, complicated and failing” – new report on Scottish benefit system

  • Scotland spent almost a sixth – £1 billion – more on welfare than the funding provided by the UK government in 2024/25
  • Scotland has the highest proportion of children in long-term workless households in Great Britain with child poverty targets missed
  • Jobless couple with three children can receive combined benefits worth £45,500 a year in Glasgow, equivalent to a salary of £69,000
  • New plan ahead of Holyrood elections sets out reforms to save almost £1 billion a year and refocus support on work and mental health treatment
The case for reforming Scottish welfare

The Scottish Government has poured billions of pounds of taxpayer cash into the country’s welfare state “with abandon”, according to a new report.

The research, entitled Benefitting Scotland?, finds that nearly a decade after major welfare powers were devolved, Scotland is spending significantly more than the rest of the UK on a “smorgasbord” of conflicting benefits and entitlements.

There is “minimal” evidence that the system is succeeding even on its own terms, warns the Centre for Social Justice. Persistent child poverty is running at 23 per cent, more than double the Scottish government’s eight per cent target.

At the same time, Scotland has the highest proportion of children living in long-term workless households in Great Britain at 11.3 per cent, and its rate of economic inactivity has gone from below England’s before 2016 to persistently above it.

The £28 billion annual welfare budget – almost a quarter of which is administered by the Scottish government – has ballooned out of control.

Last year Scottish ministers spent above and beyond the “block grant adjustment” – a grant allocated by the UK government to match non-devolved benefit spending – by almost £1 billion.

The cross-party think tank argues that Scotland could save hundreds of millions of pounds while achieving better outcomes.

Restricting eligibility to disability benefits for those with less severe mental health conditions and frontloading the Scottish Child Payment would save at least £800 million for the Scottish government to re-invest in treating the root causes of mental illness and supporting families directly through Whole Family Wellbeing Funding.

The report also highlights the scale of work disincentives in the system.

A couple with three children living in Glasgow can receive almost £45,500 per year by combining benefits. To match that income from work alone would require a salary of roughly £69,000 before tax from a single earner.

Even when parents move into employment, they can lose up to 79p of every additional pound earned once benefit tapers, income tax, national insurance and pension contributions are combined.

They also risk losing access to the myriad supplements layered on by the Scottish government, including the Scottish Child Payment, several Best Start Grants, a Carer’s Allowance Supplement, new Winter Heating Payments, and a plethora of one-off grants.

Ben Gregg, Head of Welfare at the Centre for Social Justice

Ben Gregg, Head of Welfare at the Centre for Social Justice, said: The Scottish government has missed its own child poverty targets, while pushing economic inactivity in Scotland from below to above England.

“The welfare system is over budget, overly complex, and failing on its own terms. With Holyrood elections this year, there is a real opportunity to create a much leaner, far more effective system, focused on changing lives and tackling the root causes of poverty.”

CSJ-Benefitting_ScotlandDownload

Strong welfare states and sustained economic dynamism can go hand in hand, think tank finds

Challenging the myth that higher social spending is incompatible with economic success, new IPPR Scotland analysis confirms that many European countries with high spending on social protection measures such as benefits, childcare and training, also sustain highly productive, innovative and dynamic economies.  

Researchers found that countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland spend much more on social protection per person than the UK and Scotland and have also had far superior economic and social outcomes sustained over the long run.  

The UK has had lower GDP per capita throughout this past decade. Scotland’s GDP per capita, meanwhile, has been very close to the UK’s, and well below that of the 10 countries that the researchers focussed on.

This research demonstrates that high spending on social protection does more than just place a safety net for the economically disadvantaged; it helps economies to become more productive. For example:

  • Higher unemployment benefits give people the security and support to retrain, upskill and re-enter the workforce in a job that matches their skills, interests and expertise.  
  • Measures like generous childcare investment enable high employment rates for women.
  • High spending on social protection can also encourage entrepreneurial risk-taking and help facilitate economic change.  

The research shows that high-spending countries also perform well across a range of international indices of competitiveness and innovation. For instance, all the high social spending countries achieve a ranking in the top 25 nations in the 2024 Global Innovation Index, with six appearing in the top 10. Switzerland and Sweden fill the top two places.  

Ahead of this year’s election, IPPR Scotland is urging the Scottish government to take learn from these countries and lead a renewed drive to build a national consensus on economic development. The next government should also examine ways in which spending can shift towards areas such as employability, childcare, and labour market support, that directly address both social and economic objectives.

IPPR Scotland director Stephen Boyd said: “The experience of other countries shows – unambiguously – that it is possible to create a virtuous cycle between high social protection spending and economic dynamism.

“Scotland’s political parties should bear this in mind when developing manifestos and engaging in debate around this year’s election. The next Scottish government can and must build a new policy agenda. By focusing on areas like employability and childcare, we can tackle social challenges and boost the economy at the same time.”

Reacting to the report, Professor Patricia Findlay, Scottish Centre for Employment Research, Strathclyde University, said: “This report is a timely reminder that there are no necessary trade-offs between economic growth and high social protection spending – and the many wider social benefits from the latter.

“The report carefully avoids a suggestion of causation between social spending and economic growth, though a positive causal relationship has some intuitive plausibility. The challenge, of course, is in the transition – what should Scotland do now to move from a vicious circle of low relative social spending and stagnant growth to a more virtuous circle present in other successful economies?

“There is no silver bullet, but the recommendations of investing in collective design of economic strategy, more active labour market policies and, crucially, stronger structures of social partnership and dialogue, would represent important steps towards better longer-term outcomes.”

Social housing conditions barely improved since pandemic, says Westminster Committee

SCATHING REPORT ON THE STATE OF ENGLAND’s SOCIAL HOUSING

Raising the standard of social homes in England is essential given the progress at bringing homes up to a minimum standard has almost ground to a halt, says the cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee in a report published today (Monday).

While most social homes provide tenants with warm, safe and decent places to live, the report finds that too many people living in social housing suffer from appalling housing conditions and do not have their complaints treated seriously. 

The report notes that the minimum standard of what is considered a decent home has not changed in twenty years and says, “it is not acceptable that just under 430,000 social homes still fail to meet even this basic standard”.

The Committee’s Housing conditions in the social rented sector report calls for the Government to use the delayed Long-term Housing Strategy to deliver an approach which addresses the twin objectives of building more social homes while ensuring conditions in existing housing stock are improved.

The report recommends the Government establish a new, modern Decent Homes Programme that supports social landlords to raise the standard of social homes, which includes a pooled fund for improvements to social homes and a single housing quality framework to consolidate the regulatory requirements on social landlords.

Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee said: “Whether it is residents living in poorly insulated homes, experiencing overcrowding, or enduring housing with damp or mould, it’s vital that Government measures, including Awaab’s Law and the New Decent Homes Standard, bring a meaningful improvement to social housing conditions.

“The Government deserves credit for the steps taken to rebuild the sector’s financial capacity after years of underinvestment. However, we do have concerns about the resources available to social housing providers to meet the Government’s new social homes target while also raising standards over the decade.

“The Government’s Long-term Housing Strategy needs to set out a credible plan to tackle the need to improve existing housing stock while encouraging social landlords to build the new social homes the country needs.”

The report agrees with the Government’s decision to rollout Awaab’s Law in phases, focusing on tackling the most dangerous hazards first, but warns that social landlords and tenants need a much clearer roadmap for when the remaining phases of Awaab’s Law will be introduced.

The report calls on the Government to urgently set and publish the timeline for extending Awaab’s Law to all remaining hazards, so that tenants and social landlords have clarity about when they can expect these new regulations to apply.

High energy prices, the report warns, mean households living in homes that comply with the Government’s new minimum energy efficiency standard may still be in fuel poverty, if they struggle to afford to heat their home sufficiently.

The Committee therefore recommends the Government revise the official definition of fuel poverty to reflect this in the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy.

The Government’s proposed changes to the Decent Homes Standard are welcomed, with the report noting that the “current standard has been out-of-date for some time and is in urgent need of reform, given that it was last updated in 2006”.

To demonstrate to tenants and the public that progress is being made, the report recommends the Government put in place interim targets in homes upgrading to the revised Decent Homes Standard.

The report also calls on the Government to introduce a review to update the Decent Homes Standard at least every 10 years to ensure it “reflects the changing needs of the population, environmental pressures, scientific evidence of the hazards to health from poor housing and societal expectations of what a decent home consists of”.

Auditor General: Public pensions agency ‘must be more transparent’

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) needs to be more transparent about its progress updating thousands of people about their pension entitlement.

In 2018 it was judged that reforms to UK public sector pensions had involved age discrimination. This meant the SPPA had a legal obligation to recalculate pension options for the Police, Fire, NHS, and Teachers schemes it administers in Scotland, and issue ‘remedy’ statements.

But it did not meet the 1 April 2025 statutory deadline. The delay means more
than 50,000 retired scheme members are waiting to hear if they are due
higher pension payments.

Overly ambitious revised targets created an impression of progress to scheme members that did not fully account for the scale and complexity of the work involved.

As of November 2025, the SPPA had issued statements to 55 per cent of scheme members – 108,506 of 196,316 eligible members. This includes active and deferred members, as well as retirees. Of those retirees, 51,802 out of 68,239 members had not
received a remedy pension statement.

The SPPA is now working towards a revised deadline of 31 July 2028. However, progress remains slow and it remains unclear if the SPPA will meet its revised timescales.

Auditors also reported wider concerns about the governance and transparency of the agency.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: ‘I’m concerned about the SPPA’s capacity to deliver outstanding remedy statements by the extended timescales.

‘The impact of ongoing delays is of significant concern to many scheme members, particularly current pensioners and those close to retirement.

‘The SPPA needs to provide greater transparency on its progress and take action to address other issues regarding governance and transparency raised by the auditor.’

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RoSPA: 8,000 people a day die in accidents worldwide 

Accidental deaths and life-changing injuries: A global tragedy

  • 1 in 20 deaths worldwide are due to accidents – making them the sixth biggest cause of death globally 
  • People in lower- and middle-income countries are much more likely to die in accidents 
  • RoSPA calls for greater investment in accident prevention to save lives, reduce inequalities and promote economic growth 

Accidents are the sixth leading cause of death worldwide, claiming over 3 million lives a year, and people in developing countries are far more likely to be killed in an accident than those in richer nations. 

That’s the shocking truth exposed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA)’s new report Accidental deaths and life-changing injuries: A global tragedy, in partnership with L’Oréal and Xylem. 

This groundbreaking study of international accident rates, based on analysis of data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other sources, reveals that:  

  • Accidents are now the sixth biggest cause of death worldwide 
  • 3.1 million people lost their lives in accidents in 2021 alone: over 8,000 every single day 
  • 1 in 20 deaths worldwide is the result of an accident. 
  • In addition, RoSPA’s research reveals enormous inequalities across the globe:  
  • 1.2 million people are killed in road collisions every year
  • 92% of road deaths happen in low- or middle-income countries – even though they have only 60% of the world’s vehicles 
  • 315,000 people are killed at work 
  • 94% of workplace deaths occur in lower- and middle- income countries 
  • Workplace deaths are highest in Africa and Asia 
  • Workers are almost three times more likely to die of a workplace accident in Asia than in Europe, and nearly four times more likely in Africa 
  • Agriculture has the highest number of deaths of any sector. 

Many of these inequalities may be explained by poor infrastructure, weaker regulations and inconsistent enforcement in developing nations. RoSPA has also found that 80% of deaths in working age adults take place outside of work, with road traffic collisions, falls, drownings and fires being particularly deadly.  

Together with the tragic human toll, with millions left unable to work or having to financially manage after a loved one has passed away, accidents also put an immense burden on economies, through a combination of lower productivity and the cost of medical care. 

In developing countries in particular, accidents can create a vicious cycle of lower growth leading to lower incomes and thus lower investment in accident prevention.  

With over 100 years of experience developing evidence-based solutions that have saved millions of lives on roads, in work and at home, RoSPA is campaigning for much greater investment in accident prevention across the world to drive growth, improve productivity, foster social justice and – most importantly – save lives.

 

Rebecca Hickman, Chief Executive at RoSPA, said: “Every day, thousands of people around the world are killed or seriously injured in preventable accidents. Each death or injury devastates families and communities. At RoSPA, we believe safety is a fundamental human right – one that should not depend on where you live. 

“These findings are stark: accidental deaths remain a major public health challenge, with lower- and middle- income countries facing the heaviest burdens. 

RoSPA’s vision is an accident-free world. This report provides a foundation for global action by governments, businesses, NGOs, and international institutions to act, because a safer world is not only possible, it is essential.” 

Malcolm Staves, Global Vice President of Health and Safety at L’Oréal, said: “Each year, millions of individuals tragically lose their lives, sustain permanent injuries, or develop long-term diseases due to unsafe and unhealthy environments, both within and outside the workplace.

“These perilous conditions often stem from a complex interplay of underlying causes, including governance gaps, deficient legislative frameworks, a pervasive lack of awareness or knowledge, insufficient resources, and a weak culture of prevention, both within workplaces and across society at large. 

“Our game-changing partnership with RoSPA, which provides health, safety, and wellbeing information and support to a wider community, epitomizes our values and our commitment to protecting people.” 

Autumn Crum, Director of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) at Xylem, said: “True safety leadership is caring for people and proactively addressing risk wherever it exists.

“With RoSPA’s Global Accident Data Initiative, we’re helping turn data into action to better protect people, families, and communities around the world.”  

Access the full report here 

Delayed Discharge: ‘The current approach has failed’

Significant Change Needed, says new report

NHS Scotland spent £440m last year on beds for patients who were unable to get out of hospital despite being ready to be discharged, according to a new report by Scotland’s public spending watchdogs.

The report from the Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission said one in nine hospital beds were occupied because of delayed discharges in the 12 months to April 2025.

It said the Scottish government must set out a plan to tackle the problem.

Delays in discharging patients from hospital affect people’s physical and mental health, and make it harder to admit others to hospital. Delayed discharges are a symptom of wider pressures across health and social care in Scotland.

The joint report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission warns this has a significant effect, despite impacting only around three per cent of hospital patients. People medically ready to leave spent 720,000 unnecessary days in hospital in 2024/25. Whilst the full financial impact is unknown, the cost to the NHS in hospital days alone is an estimated £440 million a year.

The causes are complex, including rising demand for health and social care services, financial pressures, long-standing recruitment and retention problems across Scotland and for some, not having a Power of Attorney in place.

Reducing delayed discharges is a priority for the Scottish Government and their partners in health and social care, with significant activity underway to tackle this. But a lack of evaluation of initiatives across the country means it is difficult to measure what is having the greatest impact and whether these initiatives represent value for the money and time spent.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Delayed discharges from hospital have far-reaching impacts on people’s health and well-being. The Scottish Government, health bodies, councils and other partner organisations agree on the need for major changes and are actively trying to reduce delayed discharges.

“Now they must improve how they collect, analyse and use data to evaluate the initiatives underway to tackle the problem. Without this, it’s impossible to understand the impacts and costs of delayed discharges and whether the initiatives across Scotland are improving lives, services and delivering value for money.”

Malcolm Bell, Member of the Accounts Commission said: “Significant change is critical across our health and social care services, shifting towards preventative care, greater use of technology and ongoing investment in the workforce. Without this, the care and support individuals need to leave hospital won’t always be available.

“The Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint health and social care service renewal framework is an opportunity for progress to be made with health and social care reform. But IJBs and social care need to be at the centre of planning and decision-making on service renewal, and it’s not clear how the framework will address the challenges faced by social care.”

‘The current approach has failed’

In response to the joint report into delayed discharges by the Auditor General for Scotland and Accounts Commission, Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland, said: “This report lays bare the scale of delayed discharge, and the impact it has on our health and social care system and the people it serves.  

“720,000 days’ worth of unnecessary hospital stays in the 2024/25 financial year. That’s almost 2,000 years – an almost inconceivable amount of wasted resources which, if exit block had been addressed, could be used to help the patients lining the corridors of Emergency Departments day in, day out.  

“The knock-on effect delayed discharge has on EDs cannot be overstated.  

“Every hospital bed occupied by someone who does not need it, but cannot leave through no fault of their own, adds pressure to EDs which are receiving more patients than they can move on.  

“And these unnecessary stays in a hospital bed puts patients at greater risk of hospital-born infection, and can lead to deconditioning, stripping them of their independence. 

“This is something RCEM has been raising the alarm about for years now, and while the government has acknowledged the issue and taken some steps to address it – the total breakdown in hospital flow outlined in this report shows that the current approach has failed.  

“Things cannot go on like this and I hope the government, health service and local authorities heed the recommendations set out by the Auditor General for Scotland. 

“Improvements to data gathering and discharge planning, among the other recommendations, would be a step towards the system-wide approach we have long said is needed to fix Emergency Care.”  

RCEM said earlier this week that The Scottish government must prioritise tackling delayed discharges and overcrowding in Emergency Departments (EDs) or risk the entire system collapsing under the strain of an incredibly difficult winter. 

Th message from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), followed the release of ED performance figures on Tuesday (6 January) by Public Health Scotland (PHS) for November 2025.  

One in 15 patients (8,065) waited 12 or more hours in a type-1 ED before being admitted, transferred or discharged in that month alone, the worst figures for a November since records began in 2007.  

Further, the new data found that:  

  • It was the worst November on record for eight-hour waits, which stood at 17,259, or 14.5% of patients attending a major ED 
  • Only 63% of patients seen within four hours at type-1 EDs, a far cry from the government target of 95%  
  • Compared to November 2018, waits of four or more hours were four times higher, eight-hour waits were 14 times higher, and 12-hour waits were 39 times higher 
  • Meanwhile, the number of people attending ED was only 5.5% higher in November 2025 compared to November 2018 

Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland, said: “This is yet another month of predictable broken records for Emergency Medicine performance in Scotland.  

“The Scottish government continues to shout about improvements to NHS waiting lists. We, of course, welcome these but a lack of political will to put the same emphasis on addressing delayed discharges means our departments are at risk of total derailment.  

“We are now in the depths of winter. Patients are arriving into EDs only to find that there isn’t the space to treat them safely, let alone quickly.  

“Very sick and injured people are lining corridors, crammed into whatever space we can find, because of exit block and a complete breakdown in flow out of hospitals. 

“With warnings of storms, snow and freezing temperatures, the situation is likely to get a lot worse before it gets better.  

“It’s unacceptable that this has been allowed to happen, but it’s not too late to act. We call on the government to support health boards so they can make the improvements needed to tackle delayed discharges and improve patient flow.”

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