People in the South East most likely in the UK to fund their own care

An analysis of 38,441 care seekers in the UK sending email enquiries from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024, showed the majority (63%) of people in the South East are self-funding their care. Nationally, 52% of care seekers (21,003) said they were self-funding.

The data has also as revealed the scale of uncertainty around elderly care funding, as costs continue to rise. It shows that a fifth (17%) of care seekers in the South East who made care enquiries between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024 were not sure who would fund their care.

Local authority funding and top up fees

Comparatively, just 9% of people in the South East said they would be able to access local authority funding, below the national average of 13%.

However, with local authorities under increasing financial pressure, and care home costs soaring, more and more people will have to supplement available local authority funding with their own money.

Top up fees come into play when the chosen care home is too expensive for the council to pay in full, with the care seeker paying the difference between the total cost and the local authority funding. According to carehome.co.uk data, 7% of care seekers in the South East were paying an extra top up fee in addition to local authority funding.

Uncertainty continues for NHS continuing healthcare funding

Finally, only 4% of care seekers in the South East said they would benefit from NHS continuing healthcare funding which is not means tested and fully covers social care costs for adults with long-term and ongoing complex health needs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is not applicable in Scotland where people receive free personal care.

The assessment for NHS continuing healthcare, which seeks to determine how complex an individual’s needs are, has been criticised for being subjective and for leading to a postcode lottery for beneficiaries.

James Urquhart-Burton, partner at Ridley and Hall Solicitors, said: “Your chances of getting CHC Funding vary based on your location in England, which is a problem, given that the criteria is nationalised and is the same wherever in England you are.

“The problem lies in the fact that assessors will rely on their own judgment as to what constitutes needs which are intense, complex or unpredictable, and that is highly subjective.”

According to carehome.co.uk’s data, the highest amount of beneficiaries were in the North East (7%), the North West (7%) and in Wales (7%).

Sue Learner, editor of carehome.co.uk, the leading reviews site for care homes, said: “The situation we are seeing in the South East, where the great majority of people have to fund their own care, will likely become more and more common across the UK, as costs continue to rise.

“With the average weekly cost of a care home in South East England for self-funders being £1,334, it is crucial people do their research and find out if they need to pay for their care. Especially considering care home fees are set to rise due to a hike in National Insurance for employers and an increase to the National Living Wage, coupled with higher energy bills and food prices.

“Care homes are able to charge self-funding residents more than state-funded residents so we will undoubtedly see the number of care homes accepting state-funded residents shrink as financial pressures force them to prioritise people who can pay for their own care.”