Care Funding in Scotland | Who Pays For Care?

This article was reviewed by Sara Chapin, Director of Finance at Lottie, on 18th December 2024, to ensure accurate and trustworthy information for care seekers. Sara Chapin has been a Certified Public Accountant with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy since 2017. Next review due December 2025.

Whether you pay for care in Scotland is determined by a financial assessment, which looks at the total value of your savings (and assets if care in a care home is needed). To make things clearer, we’ve explained care funding in Scotland, including whether you or your local council will pay for care, and whether you could be eligible for NHS funding.

We also have guides explaining care funding in England and care funding in Wales.

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Free Personal Care and Nursing Care in Scotland

In Scotland, everyone is eligible for free personal and nursing care, regardless of their financial situation. Whether you need care will be determined by a care needs assessment.

If you’re classed as needing care, your local authority will make a contribution worth:

£248.70 a week for personal care
£111.90 a week for nursing care
£360.60 a week if you need personal care and nursing care

Which amount you receive depends on the level of care you’re assessed as needing.

Council Funding For Care Homes in Scotland

The total value of your savings and assets will be worked out through a financial assessment. This immediately follows a care needs assessment. Whether your local council pays for your care depends on if this total value is above, below or in between the funding thresholds.

Upper threshold: £35,000

Lower threshold: £21,500

If you’re above the upper threshold, you’ll be classed as a self-funder and will pay for your care. If you’re below the lower threshold, your local authority will pay for your care.

Council contributions are paid at a flat rate across Scotland. The maximum amounts you can get are:

£948.59 per week for nursing care
£825.94 per week for personal care

If you want to live in a care home which costs more per week than this, a third party may be able to pay for the rest through a top-up fee.

If you’re between the thresholds, your local authority will still pay for your care, but you’ll need to make a tariff contribution of £1 per week for every £250 you have above the £21,500 threshold. For example, if you have £30,000 in savings and assets, the difference between this amount and the lower threshold is £8,500. 8,500 divided by 250 is 34, so you’ll need to make a weekly contribution of £34.

Personal expenses allowance

The personal expenses allowance is the minimum amount of money you must be left with each week when paying towards care home costs. For 2024/2025, this is £34.50 per week in Scotland. This allowance means any contributions you make to your own care must still leave you with at least £34.50 per week to spend however you wish.

Council Funding For Home Care in Scotland

The upper threshold for home care funding in Scotland is £10,000. Property won’t be included in a financial assessment for home care.

You won’t need to make a weekly contribution if the total value of your savings and income is less than £10,000. In this case, your local authority will fully fund your home care.

If you have more than £10,000 in savings and income, your local authority will still pay for your care, but you’ll need to make a tariff contribution of £1 per week for every £500 you have above the £10,000 threshold. For example, if you have £20,000 in savings and income, the difference between this amount and the upper threshold is £10,000. 10,000 divided by 500 is 20, so you’ll need to make a weekly contribution of £20.

If you’re below the State Pension age, the first £6,000 of your savings and income will be disregarded instead, and you’ll then make a tariff contribution of £1 for every £250 over this amount.

Receiving a Personal Budget

If it’s decided that your local authority will pay for some or all of your care, you’ll be given a personal budget. This must be enough to pay for at least one suitable care home or home care provider. You may be able to live in a more expensive care home if a third party pays the rest through a top-up fee.

Your local authority can either arrange and pay for care on your behalf, or they can make a direct payment into your bank account to be spent on the care you require, as agreed upon.

Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care

Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care is given by NHS Scotland. This replaced NHS continuing healthcare in May 2014 and works very similarly to it.

If eligible, NHS Scotland will entirely fund your care fees, including any personal and nursing care you require. Eligibility is determined by a medical specialist or someone in a similar role. To be eligible, you’ll need to have ongoing complex healthcare needs.

Is There Funded Nursing Care in Scotland?

The Scottish equivalent to NHS-funded nursing care is free personal and nursing care given by local authorities to people assessed as needing it. This means that NHS-funded nursing care isn’t available in Scotland.

Benefits For Self-Funders in Scotland

If you pay for your own care in Scotland, you could be eligible for a disability benefit such as Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Attendance Allowance is for people above the State Pension age, while PIP is for people below it. Attendance Allowance is worth £108.55 a week at the higher rate and £72.65 at the lower rate, while PIP is worth between £28.70 and £184.30 per week, depending on which parts and rates you qualify for.

Our 2024 Care Seeker Survey found that 20% of people are unaware of any benefits available to them, so it's important to know exactly what you're entitled to.

Lottie matches care seekers with the best care homes for their needs. You can request a free care home shortlist from our care experts, who will share homes matching your budget, location and type of care needed. You can also search for a care home in Scotland through our easy-to-use directory.