Care rules a mystery

Help the Aged says older people are still in the dark about important changes affecting the amount they pay for residential or nursing home care.

New arrangements were introduced by the Government in April, to be implemented and publicised by local authorities. But calls to the Charity's telephone advice line, SeniorLine, indicate that many older people are not being told what their new entitlements are.

• Before April 2001, a person living permanently in a care home would get no financial help from the local authority if their savings were more than £16,000. This limit has now been raised to £18,500, so many residents are entitled to more help than before. Individuals are expected to pay towards their care if they have savings between £18,500 and £11,500. Previously, their savings needed to drop to £10,000 before they became entitled to full local authority funding.

   

• The other major change in April was the introduction of a twelve-week property disregard when people enter residential care. This gives them time to think about how to fund the move and helps those whose ready capital is less than £18,500 but who have a property that can be taken into account in the financial assessment.

SeniorLine Manager Elizabeth Lodge says:

"Calls to the advice line indicate that older people and their relatives are getting poor advice from local councils. We are very concerned that details of the new entitlements are not being passed on. As a result, older people are paying more than they should - and may even be selling their homes before there is a need to do so."

The free telephone number for SeniorLine is 0808 800 6565. Lines are open from 9am to 4pm every weekday and all advice and information is free, impartial and confidential.

All calls to SeniorLine are free, thanks to funding from British Gas.

Case Study

Mr Taylor's niece (not his real name as all calls to SeniorLine are confidential) rang SeniorLine for advice in July. Mr Taylor had been admitted to a residential care home on a trial basis following the death of his wife, who had been caring for him. He had £9,000 in savings and owned his home which was now empty. His niece was concerned that he would be expected to sell his house straight away, even though he had not decided whether to stay in the home permanently.

She was advised by SeniorLine that the value of the property could not be regarded as capital by the local authority during a temporary stay, and that its value must be disregarded for a further 12 weeks if and when her uncle's placement became permanent. If the property remained unsold after this time, the council could create a legal charge against its value and reclaim the money when the property was sold. However, it could not force the sale of the property without a court order. If the property was sold, Mr Taylor would qualify for help with funding from the council if and when his savings subsequently dropped to £18,500.

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