Coming Home is a national Scottish Government and COSLA programme helping people who have learning disabilities and complex support needs to leave long stay hospitals or inappropriate out-of-area placements or other residential care settings and move back to their communities with the right support. The programme also helps people to remain in their own homes where their current support is at risk of breaking down or to move to alternative, suitable accommodation.
The Dynamic Support Register (DSR) is a register that helps Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) work together with other services to plan and co-ordinate support to people with learning disabilities and complex support needs. It is used to help people receive the right support in their local community and prevent or reduce unnecessary hospital stays or inappropriate placements away from home.
The Coming Home Fund is for individuals in the Red category of the DSR and is for people who are living in:
ILF Scotland aims to work with local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) colleagues to provide additional funding to individuals that can be used for:
The Coming Home Fund is open to applications from 3 August 2026.
Our revised published policies and guidance are available on our website.
No, funding will be made to individuals based on need.
Our aim is to make sure Coming Home funding goes where it is needed most, while giving all local authorities / HSCPs a fair opportunity to apply to the Fund on behalf of individuals.
Over time, ILF Scotland will monitor how the Fund is being used and work with local authorities / HSCPs to help ensure fair access across Scotland.
Yes. Coming Home Fund is to support people who are currently:
Eligibility for Coming Home funding is based on the right to independent living. For potential Coming Home Recipients, ILF Scotland may provide funding to help meet transitional costs where a person is not currently living independently, where there is a clear and comprehensive plan in place to support the person to move to an independent living environment.
Coming Home funding cannot be used to pay accommodation costs or fees for residential or care homes that would normally be the responsibility of the local authority / HSCP. However, individuals on the Red category of the Dynamic Support Register (DSR) whose personal action and discharge plans recommend a move to a residential or care home as a step towards independent living may be eligible for funding to meet other transitional costs associated with their planned move.
There is no fixed local authority / HSCP financial threshold. For Coming Home Recipients, an individual relevant threshold sum will be agreed once the joint funding arrangements between the local authority / HSCP and ILF Scotland are established prior to the ILF Scotland award going into payment.
We expect the local authority / HSCP funding to continue at least at the level agreed when the application was approved. If a local authority reduces its contribution, it must discuss this with ILF Scotland before making any changes. This helps ensure that the ILF award remains sustainable. Where a reduction is agreed, ILF Scotland may expect the reduction in funding to be shared between the joint funders.
Where the local authority increases its contribution due to a significant change of circumstances, ILF Scotland will review the circumstances and can consider increasing its contribution proportionately on a case-by-case basis.
For Coming Home Recipients, we recognise that people may have fluctuating support needs and so we may on a case-by-case basis agree to fund temporary or longer-term funding for support services or items that would normally fall within the local authority / HSCP responsibility. This will be at the discretion of its Senior Leadership Team.
There is currently no fixed upper financial limit. The Coming Home Fund is designed to respond to individual circumstances rather than apply a maximum award.
ILF Scotland usually expects and requires the local authority / HSCP to be the majority funder. For Coming Home awards, on a case-by-case basis, and at the discretion of its Senior Leadership Team, ILF Scotland can agree to be the majority funder on a temporary or longer-term basis.
Most funding is likely to be used for care and support. However, barriers to independent living are not always related to care and support, for example, an advance rent payment / deposit required to secure suitable housing. The Coming Home Fund is flexible and can help address these barriers, if they clearly form part of an individual’s personal and discharge plans and will support the person to move to an independent living environment and support others to remain in their community.
Coming Home funding can be used in a variety of ways to support independent living including:
ILF Scotland Coming Home funding is designed to complement, not replace, support provided by statutory bodies such as local authorities and HSCPs. We will not therefore normally fund the cost of support or services that are the responsibility of another public body such as:
For potential Coming Home Recipients, ILF Scotland may, on a case-by-case basis, provide funding for support, services or items that would normally be the responsibility of the HSCP. We may provide this funding on a temporary or longer-term basis to help ensure that individuals on the Red category of the DSR are not living in inappropriate out-of-area settings, are not delayed in hospital, or do not experience a breakdown in their current support arrangements.
No. The Coming Home Fund is not intended for large-scale capital investment such as buildings or developments.
Housing provision remains the responsibility of:
Where there is a clear, time-limited barrier to discharge or transition, ILF Scotland may consider funding practical solutions if they are:
Receiving an existing ILF award does not automatically exclude an individual from being considered for Coming Home funding. An application may be appropriate for existing ILF Recipients where:
