Care Funding in Scotland and Wales: How It's Different

Most guidance on paying for care, including our own main funding guide, is written for England. If you're in Scotland or Wales, some of the details are genuinely different, not just the numbers. Here's what actually changes.

Scotland: free personal and nursing care

Scotland runs a genuinely different system, not just a different threshold. Personal care (help with washing, dressing, medication) and nursing care are free regardless of how much money someone has, a universal entitlement rather than a means-tested one. This has applied to everyone aged 65 and over since 2002, and was extended to people of any age in 2019.

What isn't automatically free: accommodation and food costs, sometimes called "hotel costs," in a care home setting. These are still means-tested, with support available once savings fall below a set threshold, broadly similar in shape to England's system but with different figures.

This is registered and assessed through your local council's social work department, not the same process as in England.

Scotland: the Independent Living Fund (a real, additional top-up)

If you're in Scotland and someone mentions "ILF," this is a genuinely separate funding stream worth knowing about, and one that causes real confusion, including plenty of Scottish carers who've never heard of it. The Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland is not the same thing as free personal and nursing care above, it's an additional, top-up fund for people with high support needs who are already receiving substantial Self-Directed Support (SDS) at home.

Some important context: the original UK-wide Independent Living Fund closed in June 2015, and does not exist in England or Wales at all. The Scottish Government set up its own ILF Scotland to continue supporting existing Scottish recipients, and reopened it to new applicants from April 2024, backed by a £9 million investment. Northern Ireland's existing recipients are also administered through ILF Scotland, but Northern Ireland itself has not reopened the fund to new applicants, only Scotland has.

Who can apply (Scotland only): you must be 16 or over, already receiving Self-Directed Support with a net weekly budget of at least £800 (or at least £485 if you live with an unpaid carer eligible for a Carers Support Plan). Eligibility is based on support need and budget level, not on a specific diagnosis, so someone with dementia can qualify if they meet these thresholds, the same as anyone with another high support need.

Applications aren't made directly, they're submitted by your local authority's social work department on your behalf, so the first step is raising it with them. The maximum award is £330 a week, paid on top of your existing statutory funding. Full details and contact information are on ilf.scot.

Wales: one simpler threshold

Wales uses a single capital threshold rather than England's two-tier (lower and upper) system. In practice, this means more people in Wales qualify for at least some council contribution before their savings are fully depleted, since the threshold sits higher than England's upper limit. It's a genuinely more generous system in this specific respect.

Power of Attorney note

Wales uses the same Lasting Power of Attorney system as England (the Mental Capacity Act 2005 covers both nations) — our main LPA guide applies fully in Wales. Scotland does not; it has its own separate system. Read our guide for Scotland →

Getting exact current figures

Because thresholds are reviewed and do change, the safest way to check the exact current amount for your nation is our Care Cost Calculator, which asks which nation you're in as its first question and applies the correct figures automatically. For anything decision-critical, it's always worth confirming directly with your local council (Wales) or Care Information Scotland, since these figures are reviewed periodically.

A word from The Care Compass

Later-life care doesn't look the same everywhere in the UK, and neither should the guidance. If you've read our main funding guide and something didn't quite match what your council told you, this is probably why — please don't assume England's rules apply to you.

This article is for general guidance only. Figures and rules can change; always confirm current details with your local council or the relevant national body before making decisions.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.