More Funding To Ease Care Concern

Plans to spend an extra £1.6m on care services for older people have been announced by Perth and Kinross Council. The move came amid concern over councils operating waiting lists for the Scottish Executive’s flagship free personal care for the elderly policy. There are 48 people in Perth and Kinross currently on a waiting list. The authority, which said it spent more money on the service than the executive provided, expects the number of eligible people to increase.

Perth and Kinross Council deputy leader Ian Miller said the additional money would be spent on personal home care services and care in residential and nursing homes for those who are eligible.

“The under-funding of free personal care is a national issue and like many other local authorities, Perth and Kinross Council is subsidising its provision,” he said.

“This council spends more than the money provided by the Scottish Executive for free personal care.”

Mr Miller said the council would continue to work with MSPs to pressurise ministers for “adequate funding” to fully meet the costs of free personal care, the eligibility for which is tested through an assessment by community care staff.

Although the council investment would help cut the waiting list, the local authority said it was facing increased demand because of the ageing population in Perth and Kinross.

The council’s housing and health convener Gordon Hunter said: “Like other councils across Scotland, we are faced with the challenge of finding the resources to meet this increasing need.”