asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to provide a central reserve of funds to direct to Crossroads (Scotland) and other voluntary organisations involved in care in the community; and if he will make a statement.
Statutory responsibility for the provision of domiciliary and other support to enable persons to maintain their residence in the community rests primarily with local authorities. Some 40 local Crossroads schemes providing respite care through paid care attendants are currently receiving support either from the Manpower Services Commission or from local authorities or health boards under support finance arrangements.My Department provides grant assistance for the headquarters' expenditure of a range of national social work organisations, including Crossroads (Scotland), as well as for some local projects, normally of a specialised or innovatory nature; local projects currently in receipt of grant include 18 which embody different examples of community care, of which two are Crossroads schemes. I see no case for altering this balance of support from public funds.