The real big worry for families who have concerns about their future and the future of there aging parents is now starting to become clearer. The Government does not have a handle on the cost of the social care crisis that towns and Cities like Wolverhampton is facing. The issues are of major concerns, as we face up to local constituents who turn up at our Advice Surgery each month. Here is some of the eviden
ce, that has been published in the Sunday Papers this morning.
Fifty thousand sold homes to fund care – Figures released by the House of Commons library suggest that fifty thousand pensioners have been forced to sell their homes to pay for social care in the past year.
This follows a government commitment last year to introduce a £72,000 cap on how much pensioners have to pay before the state steps in, and the promise to bring in the cap from April 2016.
However, ministers announced in July they were delaying the introduction of the cap for four years amid concerns that it will cost £6bn over five years, saying it could not afford to make “expensive new commitments like this” at a time of austerity.
Simon Bottery, policy director at Independent Age, commented: “It is deeply unfair that thousands of people still find themselves forced to sell their home to pay for their care home fees.”
The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has written to the Prime Minister to ask for urgent talks on action to avert the social care crisis this Christmas.
