INTERIM STATE FUNDED

Interim funding support is primarily available to individuals on a temporary basis whilst their property is being sold and under the Local Authority system, the value of an assessable property will be disregarded for a period of up to 12 weeks.

The support provided by the local authority will effectively up-lift your income to their contract or tariff rate, which is the price they have determined as being appropriate for your care need in the area. This may be somewhat lower than the rates charged by some of the care providers who may require a top-up payment.

Your income, including pensions, annuities and all state benefits will be taken into consideration and the local authority will only provide funding for the difference up to the contract rate. Entitlement to Attendance Allowance ceases after 28 days but would be reinstated at the end of the 12 week disregard period. In England and Northern Ireland you will be allowed to retain £22.30 per week of your income for personal expenses but if you have savings above £14,250 and below £23,250 you will be required to make a tariff income contribution of £1 per week for every £250 of savings between these values. This system assumes that you are earning a return on your capital of over 20% per annum and it is therefore important to be aware of the options to provide this income. Wales and Scotland have different rates. See our Benefit Rates for more details.

Should an individual choose to enter a care home which is more expensive than the local authority would normally pay, Section 54 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 made provision for residents to top up from their own resources during the 12 week disregard period. It should be noted that once this period has ended, the resident is no longer able to top up directly. The payment must be taken over by a third party, namely a family member, friend or charity who may be required to sign a contract or agreement confirming their ability to pay the top up until the property has been sold.

For the disregarded period, the local authority contribution does not need to be repaid but once that period has expired, the amount of support provided by the authority will accrue as a loan against the property to be repaid at a future date.

For those individuals who are contemplating retaining the house, the Deferred Payment Scheme may be appropriate or alternatively consideration may be given to renting out the property. Further details are provided under the respective options below.

You should initially contact the Social Services Department of your local authority, who will undertake a need assessment in order to determine a care package which is appropriate for your circumstances. It is important to note that the local authority will establish any contract with the care provider and therefore you should not organise the move into a care home until all issues have been resolved with Social Services.

It should also be appreciated that in the vast majority of cases, interim funding develops into self funding and it is vitally important that individuals are familiar with all the relevant issues. For more information select the self funding option.

For those with an acute, nursing or specialist need, additional funding support may be available.

It should also be appreciated that there are a number of additional and associated factors to take into consideration

	Additional help for nursing or specialist care Extra financial help for more acute needs
	Top-up payments Who can make them and who cannot
	Deferred payment scheme State support for those who choose not to sell their property
	Property rental The issues of renting property to fund care
	Tariff income Calculating the level of contribution and how to fund it
	Associated issues Issues related to Interim Funding support for care
	Attendance Allowance Obtaining a copy of the CareAware information bulletin
	Self funding The issues relating to self funding status
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