SECTION 2 - LESS DEPENDENT RESIDENTS

Background

2.001 Before April 1993, local authorities in Scotland arranging accommodation for less dependent residents were required to assess their ability to pay under the terms of the 1948 Act and levy a charge for their accommodation. For those requiring public assistance to meet the minimum charge local authorities nevertheless had powers to vary the amount of personal expenses allowance in order to provide such people with sufficient money in order to encourage them to live as independently as possible.

2.002 Under the terms of the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 while an assessment of ability to pay must still be carried out if a resident cannot pay the full charge local authorities will have discretion not to apply Parts II to V of the regulations relating to treatment of income, treatment of capital, liable relatives and students if appropriate. It will however, still be open to local authorities to vary the amount of personal expenses allowance if authorities prefer to augment a resident's personal income in that way.

Identifying "less dependent" residents

2.003 For the purposes of the charging rules a "less dependent" resident is a person who lives in:

a) private or voluntary sector accommodation which is not registered as a residential care or nursing home, or

b) local authority accommodation that does not provide board.

Reg 2(1)

Definition of "board"

2.004 In 2.003 above, "board" means at least some cooked or prepared meals, cooked or prepared by someone other than the resident (or a member of his family) and eaten in the

accommodation, where the cost of the meals is included in the standard rate fixed for the accommodation.

Reg 2

Assessing "less dependent" residents

2.005 It is up to the local authority how much it chooses to disregard of the resources of a person who is "less dependent". Factors to be taken into account include:

· the resident's commitments, ie to what extent is he incurring costs directly for necessities such as food, fuel and clothing

· the degree of the resident's independence, ie to what extent should he be encouraged to take on expenditure commitments

· whether he needs a greater incentive to become more independent, eg he may be encouraged to take on paid employment if most or all of his earnings are disregarded.

Reg 5