§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she proposes to give to local authorities on how to deal, under the new community care arrangements, with cases where elderly residents in private residential or nursing homes who are self-financed exhaust their resources and are unable to continue paying their own fees.
§ Mr. YeoPeople who are already resident in residential care and nursing homes when the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 takes full effect next April will have preserved rights to income support under the present system. This applies whether they are currently self-financing or not. They will continue to be able to turn to the Department of Social Security for public financial support.
People who enter residential care and nursing homes on a self-financing basis on or after the date the Act takes effect and subsequently exhaust their own financial resources will be able to approach local authorities. The local authority would then undertake an assessment of their care needs. We have issued extensive guidance on care management and assessment which covers all new cases seeking public support after April 1993.