The Scottish Government has been accused of a “cynical cash grab” on social care amid concerns of a financial black hole.
Officials want to “reclaim” covid reserves from joint health and care bodies ahead of a difficult winter.
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: “They must reconsider these unacceptable and legally dubious plans.”
Integration Joint Boards (IJBs), which include councillors and NHS officials, commission health and social care services.
A letter from the Government has made clear its intention to claw back “surplus covid reserves” from the bodies.
It is understood the sum could stretch to tens of millions of pounds.
The money would be redistributed across the sector to meet covid priorities.
It has sparked alarm among council bosses who are concerned about the legality of the move and whether it will drain resources.
A paper by council umbrella group COSLA states that local authority finance chiefs are “exploring” governance and legal issues
Baillie said: “It beggars belief that the SNP are trying to raid IJB budgets, especially with such a difficult winter looming.
“The pandemic isn’t over and local boards need to be able to spend this money on services in their area.
“The SNP would rightly shout from the rooftops if the Tories attempted to claw back money from Scottish Government coffers, but here they are picking the pockets of local IJBs.”
Inverclyde councillor Martin McCluskey, who is a member of his local IJB, said: “This is a cynical cash grab by the SNP Government on local health budgets.
“Our health and social care services are stretched to breaking point and now the Scottish Government are trying to claw back money that could be used to provide vital services in local communities.
“On top of the real terms cut to local government that’s coming next year, this clearly shows that the SNP Government’s priority is to try to fill the black hole in their own finances at the expense of services in communities across Scotland.”
Acting Finance Secretary John Swinney has warned of the budgetary pressures faced by the Government this year due to a cash squeeze.
He informed MSPs last month of around £500m of savings made across the public sector.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “There is a crisis in social care, created by years of SNP underfunding and neglect.
“Now the government is attempting to claw back what meagre funds it has allocated, which ought to be administered by councils and local NHS boards. And with only the sketchiest explanation of what they will then be spent on.
“It’s just the latest example of the SNP’s characteristic desire to undermine localism and centralise power and resources under their own control, as with their plans for a National Care Service.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The majority of Integrated Joint Board reserves are earmarked for specific purposes, in particular the ongoing response to COVID-19 and cannot be used to fund new spending commitments.
“Further Covid funding has not been available from the UK Government for Covid related pressures in 2022/23.
“More than £1.6 billion has been provided for social care and integration in 2022‑23 in addition to support for Covid, and we are committed to increasing spend in social care by at least 25% by the end of this Parliament, an increase of over £840 million.”
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