Long-Term Care (Benefits) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 2014
Explanatory Note
This Order amends the Long-Term Care (Benefits) (Jersey) Order 2014 (the “principal Order” as defined in Article 1.) The principal Order comes into force on the same date that Parts 3 and 4 of the Long-Term Care (Jersey) Law 2012 come into force. Under the Long-Term Care (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 2013 that date is 1st July 2014 (see R&O. 160/2013.) Provision is made in this Order so that the amendments set out below also come into force on 1st July 2014.
Article 2 makes a slight change to the definition of “care home” so that the definitions of “approved home”, “group home” and “care home” in the principal Order work better with each other.
Article 3 amends the circumstances in which the disposal of someone’s main home will be disregarded for the purposes of valuing a person’s assets in order to determine the extent to which a person is entitled to means-tested benefits for long-term care. Currently, the principal Order makes provision for such a disposal to be disregarded where the person has continued to live in the property as his or her main home. Article 3 amends this by including circumstances where the person retains a legal right to enjoyment of the property after disposal, such as receipt of rental income.
Article 4 increases by approximately 2% the amounts which can be deducted from a person’s income for the purpose of determining the extent to which a person is entitled to means-tested benefits for long-term care. Those amounts relate to (a) where there is continued occupation of a person’s home by a person claiming benefits or the person’s partner and (b) where a person has dependents.
Article 5 increases the rates for long-term care benefit comprising weekly standard care costs for long-term care. The rates vary depending whether such care is received in a care home, group home or in a person’s own residence and on the level of care needed. Generally the rates are increased by approximately 4.2% except in one case where the amount is increased by approximately 16% to reflect existing costs.
Article 6 makes a drafting amendment by inserting the word “weekly” before the word “grant” so as to be consistent with the reference to weekly standard care costs as referred to in Article 5 and the table in Article 8 of the principal Order. It increases by approximately 4.2% the amount that must be paid towards the weekly costs of living in a care home or group home as one of the conditions for receiving a grant for the standard care costs referred to in Article 5. It also increases, by approximately a similar amount, the maximum amount payable for incidental expenses as a condition for receiving such a grant.
Article 6 also makes provision for certain payments received under the Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 by a person’s household when all members of the household are in residential care as defined in that Order to be deducted from a person’s income for the purposes of calculating the person’s income under the principal Order.
Article 7 increases by approximately 4.2% the amount that must be paid towards the standard care costs (in addition to the amounts referred to in Article 6, where applicable) as one of the conditions for receiving a grant for such costs.
Article 8 amends provisions concerning conditions for a loan with regard to cross references to the weekly amount that must be paid towards the weekly costs of living in a care home or group home. The provisions are amended by increasing the amount by approximately 4.2% to the same amount as that referred to in Article 6.
Article 9 inserts a new provision in the principal Order setting out the circumstances in which a benefit payable under the Order is reduced in the event that the beneficiary is temporarily absent from the care home or group home in which he or she is receiving care or temporarily does not receive the approved care package in respect of which he or she is receiving benefits. No reduction is made for the first two weeks. For the third to sixth weeks inclusive, benefits are reduced to the extent necessary to meet the person’s weekly costs as if those costs had been reduced by 10% (whether or not they are in fact so reduced). For the seventh and subsequent weeks as long as the temporary absence or non-receipt of the approved care package continues, benefits are reduced by 100%.
Article 10 sets out the title of the Order and provides that it will come into force on the same date that Parts 3 and 4 of the Long-Term Care (Jersey) Law 2012 come into force. As explained above, that date is 1st July 2014.
File No. 1409/4
gov.je