Charging for residential and nursing care

If you need temporary (respite/short term) care, the value of your home is disregarded.

If you need permanent care and your property and other savings is valued at £23,250 or more, you will be required to pay the full cost of your care. If you do not want to sell the property in your lifetime we will assess a contribution based on your income / savings and you can request that the balance of the charge be deferred until the property has been sold. When the property is sold, the council will claim back any payments made from the sale proceeds.

The value of your property is disregarded for 12 weeks, starting from the date you enter the home permanently. We can disregard the value of your property indefinitely if one of the following people lives in it:

• Your partner
• A member of your family who:
  • Is aged 60 or over
  • Is ill or disabled (this means they are receiving or could be receiving a disability benefit)
  • Is aged under 16 and is a child for whom you have responsibility to care for

When contributing towards your care costs, if you own your own property you have the right to retain a proportion of your income. This is called the Disposable Income Allowance. From April 2017 this allowance has been set by the Government at £144 per week and is reviewed annually. This will be fully explained to you by the Finance Officer when completing your financial assessment.