The report, which assesses the impact of the Scottish Executive’s FPC policy, states that while some local authorities stayed within budget, others overspent citing FPC as a significant cause. It found that the average annual spending by local authorities on FPC ranged from £1,500 to £8,000 per person, however, it adds that these higher costs did not necessarily equate to better services.

In addition, the report found that the number of older people receiving social care services at home from local authorities rose by 10 per cent between 2002 and 2005, while the proportion of this group receiving FPC increased by 62 per cent over the same period.

However, it states that this increase in provision could not be explained by demographic trends or higher rates of disability, nor did it find any evidence of a reduction in informal care from relatives and friends. Instead the report states that a pattern is emerging where informal carers are providing alternative types of support, such as social outings, meaning that the policy is increasing the amount of care an older person can receive, while also supporting carers.

FPC was also found to have continuing wide public support in Scotland, with 59 per cent believing it should be paid for by government and 68 per cent saying they would be willing to pay an extra penny in the pound of income tax to finance it. However, the report also highlights concerns around issues such as the possibility of narrowing the eligibility criteria for FPC in order to keep costs down, and of some care services that are not covered under FPC being withdrawn.

Report author David Bell said there were two key issues identified that need to be addressed, namely transparency about entitlements and adequate funding for the policy. He continued: “The announcement of an independent review is a welcome start to ensuring that the policy is working effectively.

“As our report shows, there are two critical issues that must be addressed. Firstly, there needs to be transparency about entitlements, with local authorities being clear on how they fulfil their responsibilities. Secondly, the funding of the policy needs to be adequate to prevent any ‘rationing’ or reduction of services offered.”

He said the report also stresses the importance of learning the lessons from where resources have been used most effectively, adding: “Some local authorities are managing to provide high quality services with low relative expenditure. It is vital to emulate this good practice.”

‘Free personal care in Scotland: recent developments’  by David Bell, Alison Bowes and Alison Dawson is available now as a free PDF download here.  A free summary can also be downloaded here.