Community Care Charging is a complicated and sometimes unfair policy. Here are some tips to navigating the system...

Author: Laurence Clark

In the UK we do not have legislation about care charging, merely guidance. This means that every local authority has to come up with their own charging policy based on this guidance, leading to big differences in charging systems across the country. These differences become even more extreme between England and Scotland.

In case you thought there was free personal care in Scotland, this actually only applies if you are over 65! Even then, various local authorities interpret this differently. For example, in some areas people are only entitled to two free baths a week, thus leaving them with the unenviable choice of being either stinky or skint!

Another problem with the regional variations is that currently you probably won't find out what you'll be charged until you actually move house and get reassessed for charges! This can be a big problem for disabled people and families looking to move to another part of the country say to take up a new job or move closer to relatives.

Although Gordon Brown famously used to actively encourage everyone to save for later life, the charging system can penalise people with savings and capital. According to the guidance, people with savings of more than £6,000 (in Scotland), £12,750 (in England) or £14,000 (for the Independent Living Fund) will pay an extra £1 a week for every £250 they have above these limits. Savings over £23,000 may disqualify disabled people from accessing the Independent Living Fund and, in England; savings over £21,000 may result in a person having to fund themselves. This can mean that saving up for things like a deposit on a new home, equipment or your children's university fees can prove difficult.

Don't listen to TV shows like 'A Place in the Sun' or 'Relocation Relocation Relocation' because if you own more than one property then your care charge will take into account the value of your second home and you'll probably become ineligible for social care funding altogether. Similarly stocks and shares are also counted as capital when charges are worked out.

Although in England earned income is disregarded from the charging assessment, income from private or occupational pensions is not. All in all this makes it very difficult to financially plan for your future.

In conclusion, care charging can be a barrier to all of the opportunities in life that everyone else takes for granted. We can only hope that the Government's plans to overhaul social care funding address these inequalities.

But until that happens the best advice I can give you is to get out there and spend, spend, spend your hard-earned cash before it's taken off you!