Families having to "top up" elderly relatives' care home fees, says charity

Families across England may be paying councils millions of pounds for care home places according to a charity.

Independent Age, an older people’s charity is concerned that thousands of families in England have to “top up” their elderly relatives’ care home fees because they say some councils refuse to pay the full market cost themselves.

The charity says: “Councils are required to provide an appropriate care home place to elderly people with few assets but the maximum rate they will pay in England is on average £452 a week, compared to an average real cost of £524.”

Their report found that around 55,000 families pay top-up fees, and the charity has seen cases where families are asked to pay up to £300 a week extra for care that should be paid for by the council.

Independent Age’s report, ‘The real cost of care’, outlines five ways they feel the care home funding system penalises the average older person and their family.

In their report, they also claim to show how, “care home funding is a postcode lottery, with some councils in England willing to pay over £900 a week for care home places while neighbouring councils pay less than £400. This means that the top-up fees required of families can also vary widely.”

Independent Age’s director of policy, Simon Bottery said: “It is unfair that family members are left to plug the gaps for fees that councils should be funding.

“It happens because care funding is terribly complicated and in many cases relatives simply don’t understand the system.

“We understand that councils are themselves struggling to find the money to fund care. This situation is further proof of the need for the government to radically reform care funding, along the lines recommended by the recent Dilnot Commission.”