Ian Hood explains why council social care charges are an unfair tax on the elderly and disabled and should be scrapped
The Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee is currently debating a petition by Jeff Adamson, chair of Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living, seeking the end to social care charges in Scotland.
The care tax is a huge and growing burden on disabled people all over Scotland. Since 2010, the amount of money paid to councils has risen by over 25% while the incomes of disabled people have flatlined.
The Scottish Government concedes that £15 out of every £100 raised by the care tax goes in the cost of collection which makes it one of the most inefficient taxes collected in Scotland today.
Most tax collection processes are relatively efficient. Income Tax, VAT and other United Kingdom national taxes cost only about 83 pence for every £100 raised.
The key issue is that, for many disabled people, community care is needed to eliminate discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to protect human rights. Without it, many disabled people cannot participate in society on an equal basis to others.
Yet the Scottish Government concedes that people are being pushed out of services by the cost of charges and effectively being denied their rights.
The Scottish Government has had the power since 2001 to bring this tax under control but has so far failed to use it. Meanwhile local councils continue to run a postcode lottery of charges with huge variations from area to area.
On Tuesday 17 March the petitions committee called on the Scottish Government to set a timetable for reaching a deal with COSLA on reforming care charges. Judging by the current state of relations between the government and COSLA over teaching numbers, a deal on care charging won’t be coming along soon.
The Scottish Government should do the decent thing, stop haggling over the human rights of disabled people and make councils completely stop care charging.
Ian Hood is chief executive of the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland, which is part of a coaltion of charities callling for an end to the care tax under the banner Scotland Against the Care Tax.
