‘Postcode care lottery’ should be scrapped

A CRUEL postcode lottery that denies help to many elderly people needing care in their own homes must be scrapped, the review on elderly care also demanded.

It called for a new nationwide test to tackle the unfairness of some town halls helping pensioners unable to wash, cook or shop for themselves — while others refuse.

Yesterday’s shake-up would also allow people with care needs to move to a different area of England without losing the package of help they currently receive.

And councils would be required to offer loans to elderly and disabled people moving into a care home — to prevent them from having to sell their property — which would be recouped after their death.

The system of deferred payment of fees has existed for a decade, but — in a second postcode lottery — some local authorities have been criticised for refusing to offer loans.

The report said the system for people needing care in their own homes “lacks transparency, consistency and clarity”.

Calling for a nationwide benchmark, it said: “People in very similar circumstances, with similar levels of need and financial resources, can be treated very differently.

“A single eligibility threshold, and more consistent eligibility criteria, would make for a clearer, fairer and more coherent system for the public.”

However, the Dilnot review suggested the across-the-country threshold should be set at “substantial”, until the assessment system could be replaced altogether.

Campaigners for the elderly may fear that will be seen as the green light for more generous councils to toughen up their rules.

If the bar is set at “substantial”, only people facing “significant risks to their safety and independence”, or unable to manage their home, receive help.

The charity AgeUK has estimated that 800,000 older people in need of care do not receive it from the state, at present — a figure that will rise to one million by 2014.