§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how the costs of the first three months of a care home placement will be met; and what estimate has been made of these costs. [1503]
§ Jacqui SmithWhere a local authority provides a person with residential accommodation, it will assess the person's ability to reimburse the cost of the placement. The difference between the amount the person can reimburse and the cost of the care home placement will be funded by the local authority, which is in turn funded as part of the personal social services standard spending assessment to provide these services.
From April 2001, a 12-week property disregard has been introduced, which removes the value of a person's property from the assessment for that period. The cost of the 12-week disregard is reflected in the PSS SSA.
Those residents who are able to meet their care home fees fully through their income and other assets will do so from their own resources.