Labour says Government changes to the detail around a national cap on care costs will hit pensioners with lower levels of savings in York hardest, meaning their homes may be put at risk.

The planned national ‘care cap’ states that no one will have to pay more than £86k in their lifetimes on care costs, which excludes accommodation and day to day living costs. 

But detail announced by the Government yesterday confirmed that financial support the least well off receive to pay for care costs will not count towards the £86k cap, meaning they will have to pay much more through the use of their own limited assets or savings than previously thought.

Labour spokesperson for health and adult social care, Cllr Janet Looker said:

“The decision to change the rules on the care cap and hit those with lower levels of savings more, proportionately, than the better off is a disgraceful and regressive step from the Conservative Government.

“This puts the £150k home of someone with limited savings much more at risk than the £1m home of someone fortunate enough to have much more in savings.  That cannot be right and will do exactly the opposite of what the Tory Government promised, which was to protect people’s homes.

“In York, I do also worry that those with limited savings but with homes worth up to £300k, due to York’s over-heated housing market, will find that their homes are at risk too.

“This is yet another attack on working people who will see the Conservative Government’s care cap policy more as something to fear than something to help them in later life, and for many, won’t prevent the need to sell their homes to pay for care”.

Cllr Looker said many York pensioners are already being hit hard in the pocket in a local care market that is expensive compared to other parts of the Yorkshire region.  People’s money spent on care does not go nearly as far here in York, she said, an issue that needs to be addressed.

The national Dilnot Review that provided recommendations for a national care cap explicitly ruled out asking the poorest pensioners to pay more.  The new detail published yesterday confirms this is one Dilnot recommendation that the Government has opted to reject.