Care costs consuming island homes:
Could this affect you?
Paying for Care
Under the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (no.72) the lower capital limit to charge for residential care is £13,750 and the upper limit is £22,500. Therefore if you own more than £22,500, which under the Charging for Residential Care Guidelines (CRAG), includes property and savings as well as stocks and shares then your Local Authority (LA) will expect you to fund the full cost of your residential care. The LA will assess your ability to pay and decide which lower limit should be charged. On the Islands most elderly people own their home which is guaranteed to be worth more than £22,500, without taking into account savings and other investments. The CRAG document outlines the most common assets included as ‘capital’ when assessing a person’s ability to pay for care, but stresses that its list is not exhaustive. Thus anything you own which has a significant value attached to it may be counted as capital towards paying for the cost of residential care.
The Capital Limits
If you own more than £22,500 worth of assets then you will be required to pay the full standard price of residential care (subject to entitlement to free personal care or nursing care payments) set by your LA. At the moment the cost of care in a local residential home on the islands is in the region of £800-£900 per week.
If you have capital of £13,750 or less then this is disregarded and you will not have to contribute towards the cost of residential care.
If you own assets valued at less than £22,500 but more the £13,750 the ability to pay will be assessed on a weekly income basis, for example: £1 for every complete £250 or part of £250 over £13,750 which is referred to as a “tariff income”.
Is there any way my house could be disregarded from counting as capital?
There are situations when your property may not be counted as capital and other times when it must be taken fully into account. The LA may also have an element of discretion when deciding whether to take the value of the property into account.
