Hansard

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee. The draft regulations make annual increases to the rates for free personal and nursing care payments, which help to cover the cost of those services for self-funding adults in residential care. In recent years, the payments have increased in line with inflation. Had we done the same this year, we would have uplifted the figures by 1.94 per cent. However, emerging evidence, including that from the Scottish care home census, shows that the cost of providing care has increased significantly. To help to address that, the instrument makes a 7.5 per cent increase to the weekly payment rates for the year 2021-22, which is a significant increase on the inflationary rate that was used previously. That means that the weekly payment rate for personal care for self-funders will rise from £180 to £193.50, and the nursing care component will rise from £81 to £87.10. It is estimated that the increases will cost about £10.1 million in the next financial year. That will be fully funded by additional provision in the local government settlement, as outlined in the recent 2021-22 Scottish budget. The most recent official statistics show that more than 10,000 self-funders receive free personal and nursing care payments, and they should all benefit from the changes. I am happy to take the committee’s questions.