FACT CHECK
THE SNP’s party political broadcast has caused some debate in Scottish politics, with the party making some serious claims about their achievements in government.
The advert featured a man asking friends at a party: “What have the SNP ever done for us?”
His fellow revellers then give examples of SNP policies which have improved lives in Scotland.
One stated achievement was free personal care for the elderly.
“What have the SNP ever done for us? Dinnae forget the free personal care for the pensioners” – SNP party political broadcast.
Ferret Fact Service looked at the claim and found it to be false.
The Record, in conjunction with the Ferret Fact Service, is running the rule over the truthfulness of bold claims made by politicians of all hues. In the age of fake news, we will look impartially at all the available evidence to find out if politicians are telling the truth, the half-truth or nothing like the truth Today we ask.. Was free personal care for the elderly brought in by the SNP government?
EVIDENCE
Free personal care for the elderly refers to different types of assistance that those over the age of 65 are entitled to free of charge. This includes “assistance with personal hygiene, eating and drinking, immobility problems, management of medication and personal safety”.
Currently, elderly people requiring these services are assessed according to need by their local authority before they receive care.
According to the Scottish Government, nearly 78,000 older adults use free personal care. Around 47,000 receive personal care in their homes and 31,000 in residential care. This is around eight per cent of the over-65 population in Scotland.
But can the SNP take credit for this service? Not really.
The roots of the policy actually predate devolution in Scotland. In 1997, the opposition Labour Party pledged to establish a Royal Commission to explore the funding of long-term care.
Once they were elected, the commission was convened and delivered a damning report on the state of long-term care in the UK. It said the “current system is particularly characterised by complexity and unfairness in the way it operates”.
In recommendations delivered in 1999, the commission said care should be split into different types of costs – living costs such as food, clothing and heating, housing costs (rent, mortgage payments and council tax) and personal care costs, defined as the extra cost of being looked after due to frailty or disability. The report recommended that personal care should be free for those in need and should be paid through general taxation. When the Scottish Parliament was set up after devolution in 1999, the issue of free personal care became a political issue, with broad support across the parliament. Initially, the Labour-led coalition government rejected the plan – but after coalition partners the Liberal Democrats put forward a motion to implement free personal care, first minister Henry McLeish backed the proposal.
In 2001, the Scottish Executive announced their decision to launch free personal and nursing care. It would include people aged 65 years and over and give free nursing care in care homes for people of all ages.
It was finally passed under the Labour-Lib Dem coalition in 2002 as part of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act.
Councils are responsible for providing free personal care for older people living at home and for those living in care homes.
The policy continued as the SNP entered government in 2007 and remains in place to this day.
The Scottish Government have committed to providing free personal care for those who need it but are under 65. A feasibility study has been carried out and ministers have pledged to implement the policy by 2019.