Northumberland ditches plans to make elderly pay full cost of their home care

Plans to make elderly and disabled people pay the full cost of their home care have been ditched by Northumberland County Council.

The council had proposed to remove the cap of £120 a week on how much people pay for care in their own homes.

Instead, councillors voted that the maximum weekly charge for home and day care will be set at 60 per cent of the current cost of £419 for residential short break care in care homes.

This means the £120 weekly cap will rise to £251.

Leader of Northumberland County Council, Jeff Reid said: ‘Until this year the cap has been arbitrarily set but will in future be pegged to a percentage of the cost for residential care in the county.’

He added: ‘We want people to be able to stay in their own homes with the support they need if that is what they want. By setting the cap at a percentage of residential care costs, people will be able to make a meaningful comparison between staying at home or choosing residential care.’

‘Changes we have made to the delivery of personal care has meant real help for more people and we will continue to support our elderly residents. And setting a cap means that no-one will be asked to contribute more than they can afford towards the cost of care.’

Peter Jackson, leader of Northumberland Conservatives, called it a 'missed opportunity to radically reinvent how the council delivers services for local people.'

He said: 'The result is that a number of frontline services for vulnerable people are being cut. However, we are pleased with the concessions that we have won, including saving the meals on wheels service and blocking a plan to introduce unlimited charges for home care for the elderly.'