Charging: a beginner's guide to beating the system

The complex system of charging for care creates many barriers for disabled people, says Laurence Clark. In his beginner’s guide to charges, he explains how disabled people are being fleeced by the state

Where did charging come from?

Attendance allowance (AA) was originally introduced to pay for the many additional costs of disability – but not care! When the Conservative government introduced disability living allowance (DLA) in 1992, they cunningly rebranded AA as the DLA “care component”, paving the way for it to be taken back by the state through care charging. When New Labour came along, instead of abolishing this unfair tax on disability, they instead legitimised it with complex, separate guidance for England and Scotland.

So do charges vary accord­ing to where you live?

Most definitely! As the government merely introduced guidance instead of legislation, councils can basically charge whatever they like! For example, if you’re an independent living fund (ILF) recipient, some councils won’t make you pay their charges on top of the ILF charges, but others will. The differences are even more extreme between England and Scotland.

But didn’t the government say charges shouldn’t be a disincentive to work?

They did, but the reality is somewhat different. The guidance for England says that disabled people who receive only income support but no disability benefits and have a net income not exceeding the "basic" income support level (plus 25 per cent) should usually be exempt from charges. But as this benefit is related to employment, effectively disabled people can avoid charging by giving up work and qualifying for this benefit. In Scotland, charging is even more of a disincentive since earned income is still taken into account when charges are calculated. So far none of the government’s famous back-to work schemes have taken these issues into account.

Hang on a minute – isn’t Scotland meant to have free personal care?

Only if you’re over 65! Even then, various local authorities interpret this differently, for instance, by only paying for two free baths a week!

Doesn’t Gordon Brown encourage everyone to save for later life?

Disabled people with savings of more than £6,000 (in Scotland), £12,750 (in England) or £11,500 (for the ILF) pay an extra £1 a week for every £250 they have above these limits. Savings over £18,500 disqualify disabled people from the ILF and savings over £21,000 in England may result in them paying the full cost of their support. So forget saving for that new electric wheelchair, home adaptation or your child’s university fees – as your hard-earned money will only get taken off you! Disabled students have even had their student loans regarded as capital and faced increased charges as a consequence!

So should I put my money into bricks and mortar or the stock market?

If you’ve got your heart set on becoming a property tycoon or buying a Spanish villa then forget it, as you can be legally forced to sell your second home and put the proceeds towards your support. Similarly, stocks and shares are also counted as capital when charges are worked out.

So if I want to plan for my future then should I pay into a pension?

A loophole in the current legislation means that income from private or occupational pensions is not disregarded when charges are calculated. So there’s no point getting a pension as you won’t receive any benefit once you retire!

Where does this leave us?

Charging is a barrier to all of the opportunities to improve our standard of living that others take for granted, such as higher education, employment, savings, property, pensions and the choice of where to live. It is little wonder so many of us are unemployed when many of the tangible benefits of working are denied to us!

So my advice for avoiding getting fleeced by the state is to spend, spend, spend… because otherwise they’ll find some way to take it off you!