WillsSocial Care Cap Scrapped

The previous Conservative Government in 2021 had committed to introducing a cap of £86,000 on the amount a person in England needs to contribute towards their care in their lifetime. This was initially due to come into effect in October 2023 but was delayed until October 2025. This followed from recommendations in the Dilnot Report to propose a care cap in 2011 and legislation being passed in 2014 to introduce a cap that was also delayed.

The new Labour Government announced that these changes will now be cancelled as part of their attempts to tackle a ‘black hole’ in the public finances.

Current Rules

Under the current funding rules, if a person has capital over £23,250, they will be expected to pay all care fees themselves – this is known as self-funding. The person would need to fund their care from their capital assets and income. If capital ever reduces below £23,250 the local authority will then assist with funding.

Whilst a person has capital between £14,250 and £23,250, they are treated as if they have an extra income. For every £250 or part of £250 above £14,250, they are treated as being able to contribute an extra £1 a week income towards their care costs.

If a person has capital below £14,250, it is fully disregarded when considering if a person should pay for their own care.

Any income received will be included in the financial assessment and is usually considered on a weekly basis and taken into account in full (although there are some exceptions to this). If a person’s weekly income exceeds the cost of the weekly care costs they will be considered a self-funder. However, the local authority must allow them to keep a personal expenses allowance of £24.90 that cannot be used towards the cost of care and is reserved for personal use. Local authorities have a discretionary power to increase the personal expenses allowance.

Scrapped Changes

Under the changes proposed in 2021, the means test would have continued to work in the same way in the most part, however, the capital limits for local authority assistance would have changed.

• The upper limit would’ve risen from £23,250 to £100,000
• The lower capital limit would’ve risen from £14,250 to £20,000.

This meant that a person with capital below £20,000 was not expected to contribute capital towards the cost of their care. A person with capital between £20,000 and £100,000 was expected to contribute in part, and a person with capital over £100,000 expected to self-fund.

Along with these changes, a cap was of £86,000 was to be introduced on the amount a person in England needed to contribute towards their care in their lifetime. Not all care costs will count towards the cap, for example, payments towards daily living costs are not included and these include rent, food and utility bills (for both those in a care home and those in their own home).

The Future?

When asked if the cap will be reintroduced at a later date, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stated that the Health Secretary West Streeting will be working with the sector to improve social care. For now, we will be left with the current rules despite many in the industry considering them unsatisfactory.

 

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash