What is Care and Repair?
Care and Repair services help older and disabled owner-occupiers, tenants of private landlords and crofters to repair, improve and adapt their homes. They do this by helping people to decide what work is required, choose reliable tradesmen, obtain finance and oversee the work. Small repairs services may also be available.
Adequately funding Care and Repair services is a requirement of the Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) that each local authority receives from the Scottish Government. Most local authorities use this funding together with their own contribution to pay a managing agent such as a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) to establish and run a local Care and Repair project. Some local authorities do this for themselves and some projects are stand alone.
There are 37 Care and Repair projects around Scotland, as at February 2008. Each project will have a manager and staff to provide the service the numbers of which vary according to the size of the project.
The Care and Repair Forum
In addition to the funding for Care and Repair services that is available to each local authority in Scotland, the Scottish Government also funds and supports the Care and Repair Forum. The Care and Repair Forum is the national co-ordinating body for Care and Repair officers in Scotland and membership is open to all project employees. Representatives from each project meet six times each year to discuss issues relating to casework.
Each year the forum members elect a governing Forum Board to manage all fiscal requirements such as accounts, and monitor the business plan. The board members meet four times a year. The Forum Board employs a National Coordinator to promote and support the Care and Repair movement to provide a central resource for training and information.
These relationships are summarised in a diagram.
Further Information
More information about Care and Repair, including details of Care and Repair projects in your area, is available from the website of the Care and Repair Forum Scotland. Or you can contact:
Robert Thomson
Care and Repair Forum Scotland
Suite 2.5, 135 Buchanan Street
GLASGOW
Tel: 0141 221 9879
Email: enquiries@careandrepairscotland.co.uk
If you need help with improving, adapting or repairing your home contact your local council for more information about help that might be available under its Scheme of Assistance.