CARE HOME TOP UP FEES

That this House notes the research from the older people's charity Independent Age, which shows that around three-quarters of councils are currently unable to demonstrate that they protect the families of pensioners from paying top-up fees they cannot afford; welcomes the Department of Health's consultations on the rules that local authorities will be required to follow as part of their responsibilities to provide care and support in England; further notes one significant aspect of the consultation, coming to a close in August 2014, concerns the payment of top-up fees for local authority-supported residents entering care home accommodation; calls on the Department of Health to strengthen the legal framework on charging in residential accommodation; and specifically calls on the Government to ensure local authorities are required to actively monitor which of the residents are able and willing to pay top-ups for residential care so no-one has to make these payments for the essential care that it is councils' responsibility to meet.