The Scottish Government is “considering very carefully” what action can be taken to deliver fairer charging for social care in Scotland.
The update has been given to Fife Council chief executive Steve Grimmond after the council backed a move calling for a guarantee of free care to people under 65 with dementia.
In April, Scotland’s third largest local authority unanimously agreed to write to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urging her to introduce Frank’s Law.
Frank’s Law was first mooted after the death of former Dundee United player Frank Kopel in April last year after suffering from vascular dementia for six years.
His widow, Amanda Kopel, who recently took her campaign, backed by The Courier, for better care for dementia sufferers to the Scottish Parliament addressed the full Fife Council in Glenrothes.
In a response to Fife Council, Minister for Mental Health Jamie Hepburn said: “We recognise the concerns that have been raised by Mrs Kopel and others about fairer charging for social care.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport met with Mrs Kopel in January to discuss her campaign and she gave evidence to the Health and Sport Committee on the subject in the same month.
“In addition I wrote to Mrs Kopel in March 2015. We are considering very carefully what further action we can take to deliver fairer charging for social care for the people of Scotland.
“We are working with our partners in local government and in health to improve the fairness and consistency of charging for social care.
“Cosla (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) are currently undertaking work on a new financial assessment template which will lead to more consistency and continuity across local authority boundaries and we are talking to Cosla about what more we can do to create a fairer charging system.
“We are also continuing to work with others on implementing Scotland’s second National Dementia Strategy.”
Tay Bridgehead Fife councillor Tim Brett, who was the driving force in bringing the proposal to a Fife Council debate, said he was pleased the matter was being looked at seriously by ministers.