'Catastrophic Care Costs' will hammer Northumberland families?

The Government's recent amendment to the social care costs cap designed to protect families in areas containing high levels of third and fourth generation property inheritance will seriously damage family wealth across Northumberland.

The amendment is designed to only count money personally contributed by an individual towards their care and does not include or count means tested Council support.

That surplus finance does not exist in areas like Northumberland where in the main families do not have many tiers of inheritance to fall back on.

Also with the number of Universal Credit claimants doubling over the last two years, savings County-wide are at an extremely low level as elderly residents have been attempting to keep the wolves from their families doors during this dreadful period for residents.

 Familie of elderly residents forced into care are facing a triple whammy this year with the Tory led County Council forcing up its annual tax levy to aid social services  by an additional 2.25% above the Council tax base setting.

The Conservative Government's social care cap is forcing claimants families to sell homes they hoped to inherit at a much earlier stage in a care plan than previously expected, due to a lack of family cash in circulation.

The third whamm is caused through a local health provider, Northumbria NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust opening a very large care provision service in competition to the current providers. They will expect early care to be paid for, with their adverts for professional carers strengthening pay within the sector also contributing to increased cost burdens on those in need.

Both the Health-Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies have warned the

public  that the Government's amendment to the social care cap will disproportionately impact on households in the North-East and the effect will be10 times larger than across most of the South creating a catastrophic problem for families with Yorkshire, West Midlands, Humber and the East Midlands falling just behind the abominable damaging effect the Government's amendment will lay on the shoulders of Northumberland and North East families and the needy.