Policy 5 - Backdating Payments

Version: 5
Last Amended: 3 August 2026
Next Review Date: 31 March 2027

1. Background

This policy sets out the principles relating to the backdating of ILF payments.

It applies to all requests to backdate funding.

In all cases, other than those resulting in an ILF Scotland error, ILF Scotland will only agree to backdate payments where the payments do not result in a breach of the Recipient’s Group Maximum Sum. See Policy 20 - ILF Scotland Payments.

2. Backdated Increases in Payments

We can backdate payments in line with the following principles:

• ILF Scotland can normally backdate payments by up to four weeks from the date it receives notification from a Recipient or Award Manager of a reasonable increase in support costs. It may consider backdating further on a discretionary and exceptional basis.

• ILF Scotland expects providers to notify Recipients of any increase in cost in advance of the date of the increase and will not, therefore, normally backdate any increase for more than four weeks where the providers have applied this increase retrospectively.

3. Payment on Receipt of Invoice

When a Recipient makes a payment on receipt of invoice, ILF Scotland can backdate for the relevant period that the invoice covers, subject to the limitations detailed in Section 2.

4. Reimbursement to Health & Social Care Partnerships (HSCP) / Trusts

ILF Scotland is unable to fund costs that should be funded by a Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) / Health & Social Care Trust (HSCT) or reimburse that organisation for payments it has already made.

If a Recipient requests funding that appears to be for the reimbursement of costs already met by the HSCP / HSCT, ILF Scotland will investigate and will not reimburse the Recipient if it knows that the Recipient intends to forward the payment, in full or in part, to the HSCP / HSCT to meet that organisation’s costs.

5. Emergency Care and Support

Emergency care and support is the responsibility of an HSCP / HSCT. Where a HSCP / HSCT provided support on an urgent or emergency basis, ILF Scotland will not reimburse these costs. ILF Scotland may however, on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of its senior leadership team, make an emergency payment to a Coming Home Recipient and not seek reimbursement.

6. Rectifying ILF Scotland Errors

If a backdated payment is required to rectify a previous ILF Scotland error, ILF Scotland will verify this, correct the error and award any backdated payment.

7. Cross References

Policy 20 - ILF Scotland Payments
Policy 24 - Statutory Input to ILF Scotland Awards

8. Version History

Version 1: 01 July 2015
Version 2: 24 March 2021
Version 3: 08 July 2022
Version 4: 31 March 2026
Version 5: 3 August 2026