Minister for public health and sport Shona Robison has promised guidance which will be "very robust indeed" to clarify the way local councils should commission home-based care for the elderly. The pledge follows a BBC documentary which highlighted failings by companies providing care at home, including one in Scotland. The programme also questioned the "e-auction" process used by some councils to invite low bids from those wishing to take on services.

Minister for public health and sport Shona Robison has promised guidance which will be "very robust indeed" to clarify the way local councils should commission home-based care for the elderly. The pledge follows a BBC documentary which highlighted failings by companies providing care at home, including one in Scotland. The programme also questioned the "e-auction" process used by some councils to invite low bids from those wishing to take on services.

Robison was speaking at the annual conference of Scottish Care at Home (SCAH), an umbrella body representing approximately 65% of the private sector's care at home and housing support services.

She stressed that few councils had used the e-auction process and said there were questions over whether they should, adding: "These are not tins of beans - they are people who require personal services."

A circular last year warned councils to be cautious about how they undertook tenders for such services and Robison said further guidance later this year would address all aspects of procurement.

She also told the conference that there would be a need to move from care providers delivering set tasks or hours of care, towards support to enable people to live at home more independently.

Warning of significant challenges ahead, she said that by 2016 there would be an increase of 177,000 in Scotland's over 65s population, against a tough financial backdrop.

The rise will mean 23,000 more people requiring community services, the bulk of them needing care at home, she said.

"If we are to improve what we provide while meeting the needs of an ageing population we have to rise rapidly to those challenges," she said. "It is not achievable with the current set-up."

Instead a refreshed' approach would mean supporting people to do things themselves by "shifting away from time and task-based contracts to outcome-based contracts geared up to re-able clients," Robson explained.

The minister welcomed a new grading system introduced by the Care Commission, saying it would enable those who use care services and their relatives to compare the standards provided by companies and councils.