There is no doubt that, in Scotland, the provision of free personal care for the elderly who wish to remain in their own homes is a postcode lottery.

There is no doubt that, in Scotland, the provision of free personal care for the elderly who wish to remain in their own homes is a postcode lottery. Neither is there any doubt that some local authorities are means testing before deciding what level of care to provide. How can some councils pay five times what others do per head?

The frustrating anomaly for our family is that my late father, whose protracted illness was physical, was never charged for his personal care at home. On the other hand, my mother's developing dementia was "invisible".

She could walk unattended - criteria enough, it seemed, for her specific care needs to be ignored. For the 18 months of her widowhood before she entered residential care, she was charged more than £300 a month for visits to her home from council-funded care workers, whose only task was food preparation.

The thorny issue of back-payment, never mind any admission of fault, remains unresolved; the responsible director of social work has resigned and is now with Glasgow City Council.

It does not matter if, like my mum, your childhood was one of grinding poverty. It does not matter that you paid all your income tax, national insurance and council tax, with no discount or breaks, to the same local authority that you are now asking to help you. All council officials see is your sandstone and monoblock house and expect you to pay more. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is all very well. I know, as mum did, some people are more fortunate than others.

My point is that under the Scottish Executive's so-called flagship legislation, everybody who is assessed to be needing it has the right to the same level of free personal care. Unfortunately, too many local authorities have decided that some old people are more equal than others.

The joke is that my mother is now paying a substantial sum each month for her hotel costs, while the personal care element is automatically paid by the same local authority.

There was a fatal error in the Scottish Executive's original 2002 legislation: it failed to ensure funding for the implementation of its flagship policy was ring-fenced. I realise the executive is reluctant to do this because of the issues it raises about local democracy, but it's clear the time has now come.