Memorandum of Understanding between Secretary of State and Scottish Ministers
Guidance on the identification of the ordinary residence published.
At present where an ordinary residence dispute arises between local authorities (LAs) about care that has been arranged across borders between England and Scotland, there is no mechanism for reaching a quick agreement on which Minister is responsible for making a determination. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed provides clarification on which department should take responsibility for determining cross border ordinary residence disputes that involve English and Scottish local authorities.
There are proposals for enabling LAs to make cross-border placements for those in residential care between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This will be a separate project which will feed into the planned White Paper and Second Session Bill, covering England.
Guidance on the identification of the ordinary residence
Guidance issued by the Department explains how to decide where a person is ordinarily resident for the purposes of the National Assistance Act 1948 and certain other legislation. This is aimed primarily towards local authorities with social services responsibilities for provision of care for people aged 18 and over who are assessed as needing social care services. The guidance may also be of relevance to primary care trusts, NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts who may be carrying out local authority health related functions.
See here: Ordinary residence: guidance on the identification of the ordinary residence and MOU