Care: How is it decided how much is paid?
If a Local Authority has assessed an individual as requiring care it must also assess the individual's financial resources to see how much he is able to pay towards the cost of meeting those needs (section 17, CA 2014).
If the LA decides to charge for the care provided it must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2670) and the CSSG when working out how much the individual pays. The amount an individual is expected to pay for his care depends on whether:
He is cared for in a care home or in his own home (this affects the rules about assessable income)
The value of his own home is:
disregarded (because it is occupied by a spouse or dependant relative); or
taken into account.
The individual has decided to top-up the basic LA care provision (for example, by choosing a larger room in a care home or by choosing a more expensive care home).
Upper capital limit
Where an individual clearly has capital in excess of the upper limit the LA will not make any further assessment of his financial resources. If the individual is near the upper limit the LA should plan ahead for when capital has been used up to pay for care costs so that is falls below the upper limit. The upper limit will change when the cap on care costs is introduced.
Tariff income
Where an individual has capital resources with a value in excess of the lower limit the LA must apply a tariff so that, for every £250 of capital (or part of that amount) above the lower limit and up to the upper limit , the individual is assessed as being able to contribute £1 a week towards his care costs.
Lower capital limit
Where an individual has capital resources with a value below the lower limit they do not need to contribute to the cost of their care from their capital at all. The lower limit will change when the cap on care costs is introduced.
If the LA decides to charge for the care provided it must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2670) and the CSSG when working out how much the individual pays. The amount an individual is expected to pay for his care depends on whether:
He is cared for in a care home or in his own home (this affects the rules about assessable income)
The value of his own home is:
disregarded (because it is occupied by a spouse or dependant relative); or
taken into account.
The individual has decided to top-up the basic LA care provision (for example, by choosing a larger room in a care home or by choosing a more expensive care home).
Upper capital limit
Where an individual clearly has capital in excess of the upper limit the LA will not make any further assessment of his financial resources. If the individual is near the upper limit the LA should plan ahead for when capital has been used up to pay for care costs so that is falls below the upper limit. The upper limit will change when the cap on care costs is introduced.
Tariff income
Where an individual has capital resources with a value in excess of the lower limit the LA must apply a tariff so that, for every £250 of capital (or part of that amount) above the lower limit and up to the upper limit , the individual is assessed as being able to contribute £1 a week towards his care costs.
Lower capital limit
Where an individual has capital resources with a value below the lower limit they do not need to contribute to the cost of their care from their capital at all. The lower limit will change when the cap on care costs is introduced.
