Elderly still forced to sell homes to pay for care despite pledge, says charity

 A Government pledge that elderly people should not have to sell their homes to pay for care is being ignored by councils, a charity has found.

Figures obtained by Independent Age show that local authorities are not implementing deferred payment agreements, which allow homeowners to use the value of their home to pay for care without having to sell it.

The fees are paid by the local authority, with the homeowner or their family paying them back when the property is eventually sold.

Of the 105 local authorities that responded to the charity’s information requests, 29 said they had accepted all the applications they received, while eight accepted less than a quarter.

Five of the local authorities had no agreements in place at all.

Independent Age said the report showed that “regional variation remains and the ‘universal’ deferred payment scheme being delivered remains far from universal”.

NHS figures show that there were 6,440 deferred payment agreements in place as of March 31 2017, with a total value of £176million.

The scheme was first unveiled in 2012, with Norman Lamb, then care minister, saying it meant “no one need face the prospect of selling their home in their lifetime”.

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s shadow minister for social care, defended councils saying: “Hardpressed local authorities are struggling to provide deferred payment agreements following swingeing Tory cuts to their budgets.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We introduced landmark reforms to prevent people from being forced to sell their homes to pay for their own care and we expect local authorities to provide these agreements to those eligible.”