Report: Third party top-up fees and Care Act implementation

A report examined the way that local authorities implemented third party top-up fee arrangements, and their concerns in light of the implementation of the Care Act.

It said that around 56,000 people in England had their care home fees paid in part by the council and in part through a top-up fee paid by a third party, and said there was a wide variety of practice across different local authority areas, with some gaps and uncertainties around monitoring and in ensuring the sustainability of arrangements.

The report said that there was great uncertainty about the implications of the Care Act for top-up fee arrangements, and that local authorities had voiced concern about how the top-up rules would work alongside deferred payments and capped care costs.

The report made a range of recommendations.