Councils set to be inundated with inquiries once £72,000 care cap is introduced

Councils are set to be inundated with people asking to be assessed, once the £72,000 care cap is introduced, warns Partnership, specialist insurer of older people.

Currently, just 19 per cent of people contact their local council for information if they are choosing a care home for themselves or a relative.

This tends to be driven by the relative wealth of the person going into care with those in London (nine per cent) far less likely to enquire than those in the West Midlands (30 per cent).

Under the new system, in addition to a person’s finances their level of need will also play a part in the decision.

Therefore, Partnership anticipates that not only will those currently looking for care contact their councils but also the thousands of people who are already paying for their residential care (155,696) or domiciliary care (168,701).

Chris Horlick, managing director of Care at Partnership said: “With just under one in five people typically contacting their council for information on residential care, the introduction of the care cap is likely to lead to a significant increase in the number of consumers looking for information.

“And, not only will local government need to deal with people who are currently seeking assessment but also those who are already in care and wish to find out if they are eligible to start their care account ticking. This will place a significant burden on councils – especially those in the South East and South West – as they struggle to manage the demands of their residents while also cutting their budgets.”

Some councils due to the relatively high number of older people and large proportion of self-funders will be hit harder than others with those in the South East (36,484) and the South West (25,113) due to be under the most pressure.

Mr Horlick added: “It is vital that people recognise that while the care cap is a step forward, they will still need to pay a significant amount towards their care and getting regulated independent financial advice could help to make this process far easier.”

The Government has admitted that only one in eight elderly people will ever qualify for the long-awaited cap on the cost of care.

There is still a lot of confusion among the British public as to what the cap will actually mean.

The cap is intended to be a cap on the cost of people’s care needs and will not include costs such as accommodation or food.

Michelle Mitchell, director general of Age UK, said earlier this year: “It is crucial that the public understands what costs are included under the cap and what impact the proposals will have.

“With a cap set at £72,000 it is clear that only a relatively small percentage of older people will receive financial support as a result – namely those who have the greatest care needs for a considerable amount of time.

“It will also only apply to those who are assessed as eligible – so people may be surprised that even those with quite considerable care needs may not have access to the system.”