An elderly person living at home on their own may need help with difficult tasks, with heavy lifting, maintenance of the property, filling in impossible government on line forms and the other hazards of the modern world.They need to pay for all the food, housing costs and support out of their pension and benefits. Social care has to assess what additional support they might qualify for to assist their continuing to live in their own home.
An elderly person accepted for a state financed care home gets free board and lodging and plenty of staff back up for daily tasks. It is true their state pension is reduced to reflect all the freebies they get as a care home resident. Nonetheless it is a big financial commitment by the state.
So the big issue for social policy for the elderly is when and how does an elderly person qualify for full free board and lodging in a care home? This depends on the answer to the other crucial question, what free back up and support is permissible to stay living at home?
Councils vary in the range and costs of support to the elderly and in the judgements they make about when to take full responsibility for someone’s daily living.
Some people argue the care home for someone with no savings or home to sell should provide a more basic service than the more luxurious private sector homes charging high fees for good personal care and fine dining. Others think it right that the state often buys into good private sector care homes at a discount so the full price self funder lives alongside the discounted state funded resident.
What should we expect for a care home service for people with no private means? Should the state buy places at private homes or run its own? What should the trigger be for an elderly person to be accepted for a free care home place?
July 19, 2026
All good questions. On average the care home cost should not be too high as only 6 months or so is the average as most people never need one and even if they do they only need a couple of years.
The NHS always complain that they have endless bed blocking from people who cannot be sent home with suitable home care or to rest homes due to lack of local authority facilities. Clearly it should be one budget for booths not the NHS fighting with the LA as to who picks up the bill. Hospitals need to have rest/care home facilities on site so full hospital beds are never blocked by people who only need basic care.
July 19, 2026
There used to be many cottage hospitals used as convalescent homes which reduced the strain on expensive and scarce hospital bed places.
July 19, 2026
Indeed but why not have some care homes next to the hospital so be bed blockers can always be removed from wards but also if more serious medical issues do later arise again medical staff are on hand and patients can easily be taken back into wards or operated on if needed.
July 19, 2026
indeed a shame that that system was ended, as it provided a properly planned in house physio style programme that helped people recover more quickly.
It is important to recognise that there is a very big difference between a Residential Care home, and a full blown 24 hour Care Nursing Home, and the two should not be confused.
July 19, 2026
It won’t be long before the chickens come home to roost.
Endlessly talking about funds for social care when many times the figure needed is spent coddling illegal immigrants.
What is going to happen to these thousands of single men who’ve invaded our shores. Most will not settle into our kind of family life, many probably most will never contribute to the exchequer.
I forsee trouble ahead when Guyliner tries to impose a 10%death tax whilst pouring money into feather bedding illegals.
July 19, 2026
Well played England. Football matches are so much more entertaining when some teams do not endlessly fouled and pushed or shirt grabbed and are even encouraged to do this by “do nothing” referees, as we saw with Argentina especially in the tedious and scrappy first half against England.
The TV coverage also failed to replay so many of these blatant fouls or to discuss the topic much.
July 19, 2026
Kicking a ball is dull. Tiddleywinks is so much more skilful and exciting.
Patrick Barrie of the United Kingdom is the current world singles champion. He secured his 11th World Singles match victory in March 2025 by defeating the defending champion, Matthew Rose.
July 19, 2026
Interesting to hear that, but looking relative pay and support I suspect not that many agree with you.
How many people can you get in the typical tiddleywinks stadium I have never been to one?
July 19, 2026
Unless the population is balanced so that the majority can afford to cover the costs of elderly folk, life runs out of control. If Councils are responsible for meeting the costs of care funded by Council Tax payments, then Councils would need to control which outsiders are allowed to live in their area or fail to cope.
So many things in life are restricted by needing to plan, obtain prior approval, gain authority, buy a licence or paying a fee. Going on holiday or owning a car are typical examples. In contrast, creating a child involves a massive add-on to the use of the planet’s resources throughout life, yet people are free to produce as many as they wish, with large numbers at the expense of someone else.
Now marriage is unimportant and needs no licence. Once dogs needed a licence, but the 37.5p fee was dearer to collect than it was worth to exist.
July 19, 2026
Good morning.
Well we could always put them on a dingy and send them to France.
But seriously. If this was not seen coming by various governments going back to the 60’s. We all knew the, Baby-boomers, like our kind host, would in some way or other, be a cost to future generations. So planning for it now seems rather late in the day.
Various governments of all stripes have made endless promises. The governments of the 80’s and early to mid 90’s did go someway to address things, what with private pension initiatives etc. But that would all be taxed away thanks to Prudence’s boyfriend, Gordon ‘the one eyed idiot’ Brown. So the legs were basically cut from them. Now we have a situation of falling house prices at a time when the elderly may need to sell to pay for their care.
My Council Tax Bill, which is far, far too high considering the services I do not use, is used to subsidise those who will not look after their own relatives. Money has to be taken from me and used so others can shirk their responsibilities.
We have, as I alluded to yesterday, the ability to look after ourselves and each other and just palm it all on the government. How lazy and selfish.
I cared for my late mother and did not receive a penny from the State. Why ? Because the computer said; “No!” Perhaps there needs to be some more “No’s”! made to other people ?
July 19, 2026
Should we blame the feckless or the government system that encourages this and augments the feckless? They are after all behaving rationally given the mad system that pertains.
July 19, 2026
The reason why Councils no longer run care homes and indeed nurseries for the young is that it became clear that it was costing Councils about twice as much per person to run such facilities badly as it was costing the private sector to run them better (when I was a Councillor I was on the Social Services Committee then responsible for running such facilities)and that eventually became unsustainable for both Labour and Conservative Councils.
A good example of how private sector operation is far better than public sector operation.
July 19, 2026
What usually happens when an elderly person with incontinence and dementia in NHS care, or in a basic Council care home, is that they get an injection when they become too much of a burden. Especially if they do not get many, or often no visits from family
This is the next NHS scandal which will explode soon and throws new light on the recent attempt by the State to legalise euthanasia here in the UK
July 19, 2026
Firstly I believe Social care should be funded by government, not Local authorities, the rules should be the same Nationwide, not a post code lottery of different rules in different areas, as they are at present.
Surely it is better if care could be completed at home by the family with a little outside help if able and willing.
Some Local Authorities can provide handrails, and other bits of equipment that may be helpful in this regard, although again a post code lottery.
State funded Care homes should be a last resort with a medical/safety need reason, unless requested by personal choice which would then be at own expense.
If care homes are to be State funded, then the State pension should be forfeited in full (less a minor amount for personal item needs) perhaps part of a private pension should also be surrendered to pay for such as well, as there are no real living expenses, other than clothes etc.
At the moment some care home fees are paid for in full by the NHS under Continuing Care programme for dire medical need conditions, although it is rare to qualify for this, with again a post code lottery system in place.
Rather than extend this post further it is clear that there is no overall plan, and no set rules Nation-wide for social care, which make s a mockery of of any sensible discussion until all rules are the same for all areas of the Country.
Existing savings and house ownership should not be touched until the rules are the same Nationwide.