The Department of Health has published its consultation on funding formulae for implementation of the Care Act in 2015/16. It focuses on options for distributing funding to local authorities, and covers three main areas:
· Additional assessments for the cap on care costs.
· Universal deferred payment agreements.
· Social care in prisons.
The cap on care costs would come into force in April 2016, and is designed to protect people from the risk of “catastrophic care costs.” The policy is specifically targeted towards people of state pension age (65) and older.
The deferred payment agreements will allow individuals to delay paying the costs of their care and support until a later date, which the Department of Health hopes will result in people not having to sell their homes to pay for care.
The consultation calls for £175m to be allocated to local authorities in order to pay for the additional assessments for the cap on care costs. The universal deferred payment scheme is estimated to cost £108.m and social care in prisons £11.2m
Whilst the consultation is primarily focused towards local authorities, the Department of Health has stated they would also value responses from care providers, people with care and support needs, and their carers.
The consultation is open until 15 August 2014, and can be accessed HERE.
