Petition lodged to protect croft homes from local authority care charges

A petition has been lodged in the Scottish Parliament to ensure crafting tenancies are exempt from local authority financial assessments for care charges.

Petition lodged to protect croft homes from local authority care charges

Fife resident John Maciver raised the petition after he challenged the right of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to seize the family’s croft home on Lewis to pay for the costs of a relative in a care home.

He said there is a “grey area” in the law with regard to whether or not a croft and croft property should be deemed to be ‘capital assets’ in terms of legislation which grants local authorities the power to seize an individual’s assets to help meet the costs of placing them in a care home facility.

The council pointed to legal opinion that stated “a croft and croft house were ‘likely’ to be classed as capital and therefore required to be taken into account for the financial assessment of residents in respect of care charges”.

Mr Maciver has now raised a petition with the public petitions committee of the Scottish Parliament to “urge the Scottish Government to ensure crofting tenancies are exempt from local authority Financial Assessment for care charges”.

He added: “From my understanding, even specialist legal experts are unsure of the situation and it is my view that this urgently requires clarity from the Scottish Government.

“I believe it is the view of crofting communities that a crofter has a statutory heritable right of tenancy and therefore crofts and croft property should be exempt. It is important for those communities that a definitive decision on this issue is made so a consistent approach may be taken by local authorities and crofters’ rights protected.”

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