1,750 Homes per Month Sold to Fund Social Care
On average, 1,760 older homeowners per month or 406 older homeowners every week are being forced to sell their homes to fund their social care costs.
According to new research by Independent Age, 21,120 homes were sold in 2018 with the funds being used to pay for the vital care all people should be entitled to as we age.
In comparison, only 11,800 homes were sold to fund similar care in 2000. This represents a 77% increase in family homes being sold to fund the social care crisis in the past 19 years.
In 1999, the Royal Commission made recommendations and suggestions to make care free at the point of use. However, subsequent Labour and Conservative Government’s have failed to solve the problem with recent issues widening as the number of elderly, in need of social care, increased whilst services and funding was cut in real terms.
Since 1999, Independent Age estimated that over 330,000 elderly people have sold their homes, forcing them to move into unfamiliar surroundings before they die, to help fund their care.
Independent Age has also questioned the success of the Government’s Deferred Payment Agreements (DPA) which enabled social care users to defer payments until after they died.
Whilst DPAs were designed to enable more social care users to remain in their homes, the roll out of this scheme has been sporadic and inconsistent.
According to a freedom of information request made by the organisation in July, of the 93 local authorities who responded, less than a third (29) had accepted all DPA applications.
Worryingly, 7 local authorities had failed to set up a DPA process for the elderly constituents to use whilst 3 local authorities had rejected all DPA applications it had received.
As the social care sector awaits a definitive solution to help alleviate a crisis on the verge of imploding, it is imperative that all social care users are offered the same treatment and the same opportunity to remain in their homes for as long as possible.
For further guidance and advice, please contact Wayne Barnett & his team by emailing info@maplebrookservices.com, calling 26 600780, or completing the contact form at the bottom of the page.