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New research calls for an end to social care charging 

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 6th November 2025

Report reveals inconsistent non-residential social care charging practices and calls for urgent reform to protect disabled peoples' rights

A new report by the Scottish Women’s Budget Group (SWBG), commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), has renewed calls for urgent reform of Scotland’s social care system. Drawing on evidence that includes input from the ALLIANCE, the research warns that charging policies are inconsistent, unfair and deepening poverty among disabled people. 

In 2021, the Scottish Government committed to ending non-residential social care charges, which local authorities can impose for essential services such as home help or day care. However, the research finds that four years on, little meaningful progress has been made. 

The study highlights that people in similar financial circumstance are being charged vastly different amounts for equivalent care, with some local authorities increasing fees while also tightening eligibility thresholds. These inconsistencies, it warns, mask unmet need and push disabled people further into hardship. 

Disabled people already face what Scope calls a “disability price tag”, needing around £1,095 more per month to achieve the same standard of living as non-disabled people. Current charging policies compound this inequality, as disability-related entitlements are not fully disregarded in financial assessment. Resultingly, people are often expected to use social security payments intended for disability-related costs to pay for essential care – effectively returning state support to the state through care charges. 

The report calls for urgent action to uphold disabled people’s human rights, including; 

  • Setting a clear timeline to end non-residential care charges 
  • Make financial assessments fairer and more consistent 
  • Work openly with people who use social care to shape reform 
  • Fully fund social care so support is free at the point of use 

You can access the full report on the JRF website 

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