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Home care, stealth tax and the elderly: which councils charge the most?
A significant reduction in the number of older people getting care for free, or partly funded by the council means a vast difference in costs. Which councils charge the most and which have the lowest rate?
• Get the data
• Get the data
The postcode lottery of social care has been exposed by a survey of local authories in England revealing big increases and wide variations in council charges for home care services that help frail and vulnerable older and disabled people, the Guardian can reveal.
Freedom of information requests to 120 councils show that home care services - which send carers to help vulnerable older and disabled people get up, washed, dressed and fed - are becoming more expensive and inaccessible to large swathes of the population.
There are wide disparities in the price people pay for care depending on where they live. Home care is free in Tower Hamlets, but it costs £21.50 per hour in Brighton and Hove. The data shows that more than 7,000 fewer older people had care fully paid for by their local authority in 2011 compared to 2009, a drop of 11%.
With the government delaying its plans to tackle the country's underfunded social care system, the rising cost of home care, says Labour's Liz Kendall, is effectively a "stealth tax on the most vulnerable people in society".
The survey, given exclusively to the Guardian, shows the average charge for an hour of home care has increased by 10% in the last two years – from £12.29 to £13.61. Kendall points out that an average elderly person pays for 10 hours of home care a week and will have seen their bills rise to £7,077 a year in 2013 – up more than £680 since 2010.
With elderly voters' already smarting from the "granny tax" in March's Budget, Kendall warns that "fewer older people are getting their care for free, and more older and disabled people are being forced to pay more. These services are a lifeline for older and disabled people and crucial to help them stay living independently in their own homes."
The tables below show the highest hourly charges and the lowest including details of the party in control. What can you do with the data?
There are wide disparities in the price people pay for care depending on where they live. Home care is free in Tower Hamlets, but it costs £21.50 per hour in Brighton and Hove. The data shows that more than 7,000 fewer older people had care fully paid for by their local authority in 2011 compared to 2009, a drop of 11%.
With the government delaying its plans to tackle the country's underfunded social care system, the rising cost of home care, says Labour's Liz Kendall, is effectively a "stealth tax on the most vulnerable people in society".
The survey, given exclusively to the Guardian, shows the average charge for an hour of home care has increased by 10% in the last two years – from £12.29 to £13.61. Kendall points out that an average elderly person pays for 10 hours of home care a week and will have seen their bills rise to £7,077 a year in 2013 – up more than £680 since 2010.
With elderly voters' already smarting from the "granny tax" in March's Budget, Kendall warns that "fewer older people are getting their care for free, and more older and disabled people are being forced to pay more. These services are a lifeline for older and disabled people and crucial to help them stay living independently in their own homes."
The tables below show the highest hourly charges and the lowest including details of the party in control. What can you do with the data?
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