Scots agree to new deal over fees

Private care home owners in Scotland agreed last week to accept
the £80m package on offer from the Scottish executive and
local authorities in return for concessions.

After rejecting the deal last month (news, page 16, 20 March),
Scottish Care, which represents 80 per cent of owners, agreed to
weekly fees of £406 for council-funded nursing home residents
and £346 for council-funded residential home residents.

In return, ministers dropped conditions around bills and
payments and agreed to a working group by May to consider a
mutually acceptable framework for assessing nursing and residential
care costs for older people in Scotland.