The Care Cap is Resurrected

But what does this actually mean for you? On 7th September 2021 we were told that, from October 2023, there would be a new £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England will spend on their personal care over their lifetime. It will use legislation already in place under the 2014 Care Act. We await a White Paper to give us full details, but the likely ‘small print’ (based on original proposals) will be that:

• Regardless of the actual fees payable to your chosen Care Provider, only the amount deemed appropriate by the Local Authority will count towards your cap.
• Some of what you pay will be deemed ‘hotel’ costs and that won’t count.
• You will still need to be assessed as having ‘eligible needs’ to qualify for a Care Cap Account.
• If a Local Authority were to assume £650 per week would meet your needs, but of this, hotel costs are deemed to be £230 per week, it will take nearly 4 years to reach the cap, regardless of what you are actually paying.
• Once you reach the cap, you will still have to pay the hotel costs and any ‘top-up costs’ yourself (i.e. the difference between the Local Authority rate and the actual fees your Provider is charging, if higher).
• The cap will not be retrospective, so anything spent between now and October 2023 won't count.

Please do get in touch for more information, especially as there is also a proposed change to the means tested capital limit (from £23,250 to £100,000) but this also has 'small print'!