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Dear Colleague

FREE PERSONAL CARE - ASSISTANCE WITH THE PREPARATION OF FOOD

Over the last few months the Scottish Executive and CoSLA have held a series of meetings to discuss the phrase assisting with the preparation of food in Schedule 1 of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002.

I attach for your information a letter which sets out the general principles for deciding what services should be provided free of charge.

If you have any enquiries about the content of this letter, please contact Fiona March on 0131 244 3721 in the first instance.

Yours sincerely

Donald Carmichael

DB CARMICHAEL

FREE PERSONAL CARE - ASSISTING WITH THE PREPARATION OF FOOD

1. The purpose of this document is to remind recipients of the legal requirements set out in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, in respect of assistance with the preparation of food.

2. Section 1(c) of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 provides that local authorities are not to charge for social care provided or secured by them if that social care is care of a kind mentioned in Schedule 1 to the Act. Schedule 1 lists among other things, the following social care:

As regards the person's eating requirements:

(a) assisting with the preparation of food

3. The Scottish Executive issued guidance (Circular No. CCD5/2003) on 29 July 2003, which stated, amongst other things, that "Food preparation and provision of meals are not included".

4. The Scottish Executive issued a letter to local authorities on 24 September 2004 which stated that the guidance was inconsistent with Schedule 1 of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, which makes explicit that assistance with the preparation of food should not be charged for .

5. However, the letter of 24 September 2004 did not draw out any distinction between the term "food preparation" used in the guidance and the term "assisting with the preparation of food" used in the Act in the context of a person's eating requirements. Neither did it remind recipients that such social care is provided by the local authority under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and is part of the community care services, which a person has been assessed as requiring under section 12A of the 1968 Act. In this regard, recipients of this circular will note that meal provision is not included in the list of "care not ordinarily charged for" in Schedule 1 of the 2002 Act.

6. In summary, services are to be provided following assessment of the needs of the persons concerned, and there is no question of automatic entitlement to a free service on request. While interpretation of the law is ultimately a matter for the courts, local authorities, having assessed the needs of the person concerned, may regard simple tasks which could be characterised as assistance as being care not ordinarily charged for, and therefore free of charge to persons assessed as requiring such assistance. The approach to delivery of services remains a matter for local authorities, having regard to local circumstances and the assessed needs of the individual.