Elderly in England won’t have to sell homes to fund care upfront

But the package unveiled by Conservative Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will not apply to Scotland, where nursing home residents can be forced to sell their homes to cover the cost of up to £35,000 a year for care.

Professor David Bell, who helped to mastermind the introduction of free personal care north of the Border, said there was a mistaken “assumption” that all care in Scotland is free and that the UK government’s plans are “irrelevant”.

He said 10,000 Scots could be forced to sell their homes within the next few years to pay for care in their old age, as he talked about a “big gap” in the care provided by the state and that paid for by individuals in Scotland.

The Scottish Government  currently provides free personal care, but this only amounts to £8,500 a year. The overall average annual cost of nursing care in a residential home can be as much as £35,000 a year.

Under the UK government’s plans, being introduced across England in April 2015, people will be able to borrow money from councils at nominal interest rates, with the sum being paid back after their death. The scheme is intended to help around 40,000 people each year who are forced to sell their homes to cover care costs.

A review last year proposed capping the amount people pay for care at £35,000, but UK ministers said the current spending squeeze meant that it had to look at other options.

Prof Bell said that of the 30,000 Scots currently in residential homes, 10,000 have to pay a large chunk of their care bill as they have assets of  more than £23,000 – the level at which residents have to start contributing towards their costs.

He said the Scottish Government had failed to address the shortfall these 10,000 residents would face in paying for their care, which he warned could lead to “pressure” on older people to sell their homes by the end of the decade.

Prof Bell, who was a member of the care development group that helped introduce free personal care in 2002, said: “There are 30,000 people in residential care in Scotland – 20,000 of these places are paid for by the state as they don’t have assets of more than £23,000. But even with the free personal care we have in Scotland for everyone, there is a big funding gap facing the 10,000 who have to pay for their stay in care homes.

“There is an assumption  both north and south of the Border that care is free in Scotland and that what’s happening with the UK government’s plans is  irrelevant.

“What’s happening in England is that people are going to get loans to pay for care if there’s a shortfall, but in Scotland no action is being taken to address this and there is a real issue about what thought is given to dealing with the funding issue north of the Border.”

Meanwhile, Mr Lansley is set to press ahead with the release of a white paper and draft bill on social care, as well as a report detailing progress towards solutions on key issues.

He said: “From April 2015, we will ensure that people will be able to delay selling their home to pay for residential care. This will give people greater flexibility and peace of mind at what can be a very traumatic time.”

Scotland’s health secretary Nicola Sturgeon insisted that the SNP government would continue to provide “sustainable support” for the ageing population.