Free Personal Care Continues To Be A Success, Says COSLA

Free personal care, the flagship policy of devolution, continues to be a success COSLA President Pat Watters has said. Commenting as an independent evaluation of the policy was published Councillor Watters said: “This is a defining policy for Scotland and it is a policy that has been a tremendous success for Scotland’s elderly.

“The report finds that the vast majority of clients received their entitlements under the policy without undue delay or complication. That said the evaluation published today is not an absolute clean bill of health in that it flags up some implementation issues.  The report will act as a springboard in allowing ourselves and the Executive to address some of the areas where there are difficulties.

“However these difficulties are small in the overall context of the policy’s success and both local and central government politicians are fully committed to seeing free personal care continuing as a success story.

“As I say there are a few areas of difficulty flagged up in the report and although they are small in number they still need sorted out.  For each of the individuals affected they are a source of major concern and that is why they are a priority for us.

“What I would like to see in the post election period is enough space to allow us and the Executive to sit down and resolve these outstanding issues once and for all, our elderly people deserve no less.”