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Care costs cap 'delayed until 2020' Care costs cap 'delayed until 2020'
(35 minutes later)
The cap on elderly care costs in England will be delayed from next April until 2020, the government says. The government's flagship policy to cap care costs in England will be delayed until 2020, the government says.
The move comes after the Local Government Association wrote to ministers earlier this month asking for a delay because of the "enormous pressures" they said they were facing. Costs were to be limited to £72,000 for the over 65s and younger adults with disabilities from April 2016.
The letter said the system was "no longer sustainable" and pressing ahead would be "deeply damaging". But the Department of Health said that will now be put back four years, although it said it was still "fully committed" to the cap.
The Department of Health said it was still "fully committed" to the cap. The move came after councils wrote to ministers asking for a delay because of the "enormous pressures" they faced.
From April, the costs people face for care over the age of 65 was to be limited to £72,000 over the course of their lifetime. For years councils have been warning the care system - which covers residential care and help at home with tasks such as washing and dressing - has been under-funded.
BBC Cost of Care project
The BBC has launched an online guide to the care system for the over-65s. The "care calculator" covers residential care and the support provided in people's own homes, for tasks such as washing and dressing.
Users can submit their postcode and find out how much each service costs where they live in the UK.
There is also a dedicated BBC Cost of Care website, with news stories, analysis and video.
The letter from the Local Government Association on 1 July said the shortfall in funds was now growing by £700m a year.
Catastrophic costs
It added while councils backed the introduction of the cap, it was not possible to cope with the extra demands the changes would bring at the moment.
It said the current system was "no longer sustainable" and pressing ahead would be "deeply damaging".
It had been predicted the changes would add £6bn to public sector spending over the course of five years.
The move was part of a raft of changes being introduced under 2014 Care Act and included in the Conservative Party's manifesto.
As well as capping costs, the changes would have provided a more generous system of state help.
Currently those with assets of above £23,250 do not get any help from councils towards their costs.
That was to have risen to £118,000 under the changes.
Ministers had claimed the policy would stop people racking up "catastrophic" care costs in old age - one in 10 people who enter the care system end up forking out over £100,000.