Aberdeenshire Council has made a “hugely embarrassing” U-turn on plans to raise care charges on elderly residents by tens of thosands of pounds.
The Press and Journal revealed earlier this year that some sheltered housing residents were facing care bills of an extra £1,000 per month in the wake of the authority’s decision to scrap a 35% contribution cap.
But last nights council chiefs conceded that following “concerns” from affected residents, they are now prepared to raise the threshold at which care users are charged.
The Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership are now proposing to raise the income threshold at which the 100% comes into effect from £16,000 to £26,250.
Last night however, opposition councillors claimed the change was not enough – and that the charges should be increased “over time”.
Council officials who visited affected housing schemes and day centres to give residents advice faced a fierce backlash, and only three months after the policy took effect councillors have been forced to review it.
Anne Allan, chairwoman of the social work and housing committee, said: “Many people understood and agreed with the principle that those who could afford to contribute more towards the cost of their care should do so.
“However, there was a consensus that the £16,000 threshold at which people start to pay full cost, does not leave an individual with a reasonable sized reserve.”
And Aberdeenshire Council co-leader Richard Thomson said “no-one will be asked to pay more than they can afford”.
“Having listened to these concerns, the social work and housing committee will be asked to consider a number of proposals, one of which will be to lift the threshold from £16,000 to £26,250 to bring it in line with residential charging policy,” he added.
It is understood officers will now work with residents on “personalised payment” plans to lessen the financial blow.
The U-turn is expected to be confirmed when the committee meets in September.
But opposition councillors who campaigned against the hike in charges reacted angrily last night, claiming the policy change is not far-reaching enough.
Councillor Norman Smith, leader of the Aligned Independent Group, said: “They still haven’t addressed the situation of putting the 65% charges up in one fell swoop. There is still scope to phase it in over time.”