Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it defines "reasonable overnight accommodation costs" for parents with a baby in neonatal care accessing the Young Patients Family Fund, and how this is applied in practice to ensure that parents are adequately supported to stay with their baby.
In the context of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF), ‘reasonable overnight accommodation’ is defined as the most cost effective accommodation available. Health Boards have flexibility in relation to how much should be provided in each case but the costs provided should be reasonable in the circumstances.
In an effort to ensure claimants don’t routinely have to provide large amounts of money upfront to cover accommodation costs, the YPFF terms and conditions direct claimants to access Health Board visitor accommodation in the first instance. Where this is not available, private accommodation (e.g. hotel) can be booked and the fund’s terms and conditions direct the Health Board to book on behalf of the claimant where this is possible.