By Steve Bargeton, political editor

SCOTLAND’S FLAGSHIP POLICY of free personal care for the elderly has a £40 million black hole, according to a review published yesterday.

Last summer the SNP Government ordered a review of the policy brought in by the previous Labour/Lib Dem Executive in 2002.

In his report published yesterday, Lord Sutherland, who chaired the Royal Commission which led to the introduction of the policy, said ministers have to find £40 million to “stabilise the policy in the short term.”

He also called on the UK Government to reinstate the £30 million-a-year in attendance allowance withdrawn for those in care homes when the policy was introduced.

Overall Lord Sutherland concluded the policy itself is sound but its implementation required greater consistency and transparency, but he warned that in the longer term a “new vision” is needed to look into the way society deals with an ageing population.

In 2006 the cost of free personal care was £256 million but this is expected to rise to £813 million, prompting Lord Sutherland to call for a rethink, and he likened the challenge to that of tackling climate change.

“The sums of money that will be spent in different ways in our society because of demographic change are enormous,” he said.

“In Japan they’re doing this, Japan has the most significant demographic issues to deal with, and in other European countries they will be forced to begin to.

“We’ve started in the UK and the government are aware of some of these issues, but mostly in the care area.”

Lord Sutherland said Westminster “didn’t like this policy” when it was introduced in Scotland, and he was critical of the UK Government’s decision to withdraw attendance allowances.

“The UK Government, we think, should not have withdrawn attendance allowance funding when the policy was initially introduced,” he said.

“When the new process was set up, it turns out that the money that goes down the system through attendance allowances is, of course, reserved to Westminster.”

Lord Sutherland continued, “That was forwarded to Scotland, although there was a saving now estimated at £30 million per year to that UK budget.

“We think funding should be re-instated.”

Addressing concerns about the length of time some who qualify for free personal care have to wait to receive it, Lord Sutherland said no one should have to wait for more than six weeks after being assessed.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said, “Lord Sutherland confirms that the policy of Free Personal and Nursing Care (FPNC) has both widespread support, and is delivering real benefits for tens of thousands of our most vulnerable older people.

“However the report clearly states that the UK Government should not have withdrawn the Attendance Allowance resources previously paid to residents in care homes—providing savings currently valued at over £30m a year —savings that should have been made available to benefit elderly people across Scotland.”

Commenting on behalf of Scotland’s councils, COSLA’s health spokesman Ronnie McColl said, “Local government in Scotland is fully committed to the policy of free personal and nursing care.

“Lord Sutherland’s report highlights the crucial role that councils play in successfully delivering free personal care and points to the real benefits that the policy confers on older people.

“While the report is correct to point to some of the challenges facing the policy—for instance, the long-term impact of demographic change—we are committed to working in partnership with the Government to address these.”

Labour health spokesman Margaret Curran said, “Scottish Labour delivered free personal care for Scotland and the Sutherland report confirms that it was fully funded and has proved to be very popular with the people of Scotland.

“The report raises vital issues for the future of free personal and nursing care for the elderly in Scotland. Labour fully accepts the conclusions of the report and its recommendations.”

Scottish Lib Dem health spokesman Ross Finnie said, “When it was introduced, Liberal Democrats said the UK Government was wrong to withhold the attendance allowance. Lord Sutherland has confirmed that the UK Government is wrong, surely now is the time for UK ministers to admit that they are wrong and pay up.”

Scottish Tory health spokesman Mary Scanlon said, “They key issue is to ensure that free personal care is administered consistently throughout Scotland.

“My colleagues have been instrumental in highlighting the problems with people being charged for food preparation in some areas and it is absolutely essential that we implement a clear, consistent programme for this.”