 Canvey Island resident Pat Haunts visited Stafford Court Rest Home in Venables Close with Castle Point Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Rebecca Harris.
Rebecca and Pat were invited to visit the home to discuss Conservative proposals for a new voluntary scheme that will end the "immense injustice" of 45,000 elderly people a year being forced to lose their family home and life savings in order to pay for care home fees.
In England, all the costs of residential care must be met by the individual, if they own just £23,000 or more in assets including the value of their homes. Most pensioners have only modest savings, so practically anyone who has worked hard all their lives to pay for a home of their own is at risk if they need to go into care.
There are very few insurance products currently on the market that cover people for care homes costs, and they are typically far too expensive for most people.
To tackle the problem, a Conservative Government will introduce a new, voluntary scheme with a one-off joining fee (estimated at around £8,000, paid at age 65) in return for a guarantee that absolutely all fees for permanent residential care would be waived for life. The average amount in fees someone has to pay for entering residential care is over £50,000, but can be far more if they need to stay for several years.
Pat Haunts said “It is such a relief to hear that a Conservative Government would introduce a voluntary scheme of a one-off payment. This would enable homeowners to keep their property if they should need to go into residential care in the future.”
“Five years ago, my elderly mother had to go into permanent residential care. It was such a worrying time as all Mum's modest savings went on the care home's fees. I was forced to sell her bungalow to continue the payments. My parents worked hard all their lives and it seemed so unjust.”
I know that this new care home policy will bring peace of mind to the home-owners of Canvey Island, reassuring them that they no longer have to worry about the future of their property." | 
