The Scottish Government has scrapped plans to deliver structural social care reform through a National Care Service.

In a statement to Parliament, social care minister Maree Todd said the National Care Service Bill would no longer contain ‘legislation for structural reform'.

The Bill will now solely contain proposals for a non-statutory advisory board to provide guidance and drive improvement within the sector and legislation to upholds the rights of residents in care homes to be visited by families or friends, alongside a right to breaks for unpaid carers.

The minister said: ‘I have concluded that we must deliver our Scottish National Care Service without legislating for structural reform, securing a different means to deliver our goals.'

The National Care Service Bill has faced fierce criticism from politicians, local authorities and trade unions.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said: ‘Care in our country is broken, but SNP ministers have spent four years and £30m on the wrong solutions. That's enough to pay the salaries of 1,200 care workers for an entire year. What a waste.

‘Every year wasted on this is a year the minister could have been getting on with fixing our broken care system.'

Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for health Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: 'We warned the SNP from day one that their disastrous National Care proposals were fatally flawed.

 'Trade unions, councils and care providers all agreed that the plans were never viable, but the SNP stubbornly decided that once again they knew best.'

Scottish Green health spokesperson Gillian Mackay said: ‘I hope that this announcement will allow us to focus on the areas where there is a far greater consensus and where we can deliver real and positive change, such as ensuring that people living in care homes have the right to see and spend time with loved ones.

‘We will work with the Scottish Government and other parties and stakeholders to deliver changes that will support carers to take personalised respite breaks, and greater access to advocacy and information.'

Robert Kilgour, executive chairman of Renaissance  Care, said: ‘Lions led by donkeys - our hero carers, both paid and unpaid, who work tirelessly caring for the most vulnerable in our society have been badly let down by this SNP led Scottish Government who have wasted £30m of taxpayers money on this badly thought out scheme that has delivered not a single extra hour of care.

‘I wouldn't let this lot run me a bath let alone run one of my businesses. It is sadly yet another SNP scandalous misuse of our money to add to the ever growing list. We urgently need more funds to support front line care and carers not more civil servants working on more SNP white elephant vanity projects.'