CONSTANCE WELCOMES SOCIAL CARE PLEDGE

CONSTANCE WELCOMES SOCIAL CARE PLEDGE

Angela Constance MSP has welcomed the news that families in West Lothian and across Scotland are set to benefit from a social care pledge that will remove charges for care and support in the community, known as non residential social care costs.

The Almond Valley MSP has been campaigning against the introduction of these social care charges by West Lothian Council and welcomed the early election commitment made by Nicola Sturgeon that these charges will be scrapped if an SNP Government is re-elected to Holyrood in 2021.

Angela Constance MSP commented-

“I know how much misery the financial impact of these council charges has caused locally and therefore I’m delighted that the First Minister has made an early election commitment to scrap them.

Everyone should have access to the support they need without financial penalty on the same principle behind free personal care and health care - if you need help, you should get it.

Despite that principle many people are still having to pay for their support in the community. My recent freedom information request demonstrated a postcode lottery across Scotland with some people in West Lothian having their charges doubled to £50 a week.

I know from my constituency casework that  charges can be a barrier to people accessing the support they need and if they can't get that support they are more likely to end up in a crisis.  The scrapping of these charges will ensure that some of our most vulnerable adults receive the right support at the right time.”

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