This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Care home fee increases
18/11/2005
Increases in care home fees must be clearly linked to increases in services and higher standards of care, Scottish Care's annual conference was told today.
Deputy Health Minister Lewis Macdonald said that he expected local authorities and Scottish Care to have a framework agreed and in place by April 2007.
The Minister also sounded a strong warning about the charging of unwarranted top-up fees. He said:
"We have made significant investments to meet care home costs - including £37 million extra from April 2006, rising to £57.5 million the year after.
"Clearly, I want to see these resources put to best use. I know that Scottish Care and local authorities have been working on a model which would clearly link future fee increases to tough conditions on services and quality. And I have assurances from both COSLA and Scottish Care that a framework to do this will be in place by April 2007, which I welcome.
"The fee levels recommended for next year must put to rest once and for all charging of unwarranted top-up fees. Recent media coverage of this issue did nobody in the business any favours. It highlighted cases where older people's own personal allowances were being used for top-ups. That was simply not acceptable.
"Top-ups are entirely legitimate - when they are for a clearly defined additional service. They must never be an additional levy on the basic level of care package.
"Driving up standards for the benefit of older people is what we must all be focused on. Scottish Care has a strong voice and it's one I want to hear. With local authority colleagues, we can shape the development of community care together.
"The market in care needs a strong independent sector. And I believe the market will go from strength to strength following agreement on funding from next year. The challenge is to act where we can to improve the quality of care and to deliver the rewards for doing business in this sector in a way which puts the needs of the customer first."