The review, which was chaired by Lord Sutherland who chaired the Royal Commission into the Funding of Long-Term Care of Older people that paved the way for Scotland’s FPNC policy, found that increased funding, greater consistency and transparency and better planning for the future are key to ensuring the policy’s sustainability.  

As part of this the review recommends that the Scottish Government should provide an additional £40m funding to stabilise the policy in the short-term. It also calls for the reinstatement of the £30m a year in Attendance Allowance  - a tax-free benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to people aged 65 or over who need help with personal care because they are physically or mentally disabled – which was withdrawn in respect of those in care homes by the UK Government when the policy was introduced. 

Lord Sutherland said that the UK government should not have withdrawn the Attendance Allowance funding and called for it to be reinstated, adding that if the UK Government were to “cough up” the £30m a year then the extra £40m needed to sustain the policy would be reduced to £10m annually from the Scottish Government. 

Asked whether he thought the policy was affordable in the long term in Scotland Lord Sutherland said:  

“I believe yes. It is a matter of choices how you spend the money. Clearly if you spend it this way you won’t spend it in other ways and there are different choices being made by the Westminster Government about how they spend some of their public sector money from how we do and that is reasonable, but yes is my answer.” 

However, he also called for a holistic review of all the sources of public funding for long-term care of older people and said there is a need to establish a long-term vision for dealing with the challenge of demographic change, comparing it to the challenges posed by climate change. 

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the review’s findings, and said the Scottish Government is committed to securing FPNC policy for the long-term. 

She 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"However the report clearly states that the UK Government should not have withdrawn the Attendance Allowance resources previously paid to residents in care homes - providing savings currently valued at over £30m a year - savings that should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.” 

She said the report also addresses concerns that have been raised about the funding and clarity of the policy during its early years and the longer-term challenges we face from Scotland’s changing demographics. 

She continued:  

"Over the last year, we have been working closely with COSLA to improve the clarity of the policy and address various practical issues.  We both agree that any additional funding for the policy must be linked to resolving those issues and improving outcomes for older people.” 

She added that the Government will now consider the report in detail and she will update Parliament in due course as to their response. 

The full report of the Independent Funding Review of Free Personal and Nursing Care can be accessed at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/04/25105036/0