Cameron’s hidden dementia taxes

Cameron’s hidden dementia taxes hit vulnerable hardest

REVEALED:

• Older and disabled people will pay an average of £655 more for home help this year compared to four years ago
• Dial-a-ride transport services double in price over same period
• ‘Meals on wheels’ cost 65p more – older people paying an extra £235 per year

Government cuts to local authority care budgets have left the most vulnerable people in society paying spiralling charges for their own care.

A Labour survey of council social care departments reveals the care charges older and disabled people will pay this year.
Government cuts to local authority budgets, which pay for social care, have left councils no choice but to increase the costs billed to individuals and families. These support services include home help – that help people get up, washed and dressed – alongside ‘meals on wheels’ and dial-a-ride transport services.

Last week, an independent survey of social care finances by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) revealed that Government cuts to councils will mean a further £800m taken from care budgets in the next year – totalling £2.68 billion so far under the current Government.

More than a third of local authorities supplied information to the Labour survey – 64 out of 150 responsible councils.
Labour’s findings show the average charges for an hour of home care increased by 10.6% between 2009/10 and 2013/14 – from £11.87 to £13.13.

An average care user – defined by experts as an individual receiving 10 hours of care each week (The Personal Social Services Research Unit’s report ‘Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2010’) – will pay £655 more this year compared to four years ago (from £6,172 in 2009/10 to £6,827 in 2013/14).

The cost of council-run ‘Ring and Ride’ and other transport services, to assist people with reduced mobility to travel to day centres and medical appointments, has more than doubled in 4 years – from an average of £1.98 to £4.12 per ride.
Additionally, the average price of a ‘meal on wheels’ has increased from £3.01 in 2009/10 to £3.66 in 2013/14. An extra 65p per meal will add £237 over a year – on the basis of one council-provided meal per day – taking the 2009/10 average annual total of £1095 to £1332 in 2013/14.

Growing ‘postcode lottery’ in care

The survey findings show considerable variation in the price of home care, meals and transport services between different councils.

Whilst responsibility for such huge cuts to care services lies squarely with central Government, it is noticeable that older and disabled people in Conservative areas pay more for each of these on average than friends and family in Labour-controlled areas.

Home care:

An hour of home help costs £20 in Brighton and Hove, whilst Tower Hamlets in London offers it for free.

Older and disabled people receiving services from Conservative councils pay on average £15 per week, or £780 per year, more than neighbours in Labour-controlled areas (based on Conservative councils charging £1.50 per hour more and people receiving an average of 10 hours care per week).

Transport

Several councils provide free transport services to people with reduced mobility, whilst Warwickshire charge as much as £12 per ride. Conservative-run Warwickshire has increased its fare by almost £11 in last four years, now charging three times the national average.

Conservative councils charge £5 on average, £2.10 more than in Labour-controlled areas.

Meals

The most expensive council charges close to three times more for a meal than the cheapest – £5.99 in Richmond compared to £2.30 in Warrington.
A meal in a Conservative area costs 45p more on average than in a Labour-controlled area – adding up to an extra £160 a year on the basis of one meal per day.

Meals services:

Cost of a meal in £

Community Transport Services

(Charge per ride):

Home Care Costs:

Weekly Care Charge Cap: