Gordon Brown has proposed in an address to the Labour Party Conference earlier this week that older people in England and Wales with the 'highest needs' will no longer be means tested if they require personal care in their own home.

Social services departments of local authorities are responsible for arranging help with personal care tasks such as dressing or washing for those individuals they assess as requiring this assistance. Social services can charge individuals for these services and while policies very between different authorities, in many areas anyone with savings over £23,500 will have to pay the full cost of their care. The rules for individuals who need financial help with their care home fees from the local authority are different and are not covered by these proposals.

Ministers hope to implement the scheme in England by mid-2010 but a general election must be also be held by early June.

Source: BBC NEWS