A COUNCILLOR has warned people to not expect too much from the new Care Act provision.

Cllr Barbara Rice, Thurrock Council’s adult social care and health portfolio holder said that the act is the most significant change in legislation for 40 years.

The Act will put a limit on the amount anyone will have to pay towards their care; however, Cllr rice believes people should still expect to fund certain costs.

She said:” It is important to note that the much talked about care cap, which also comes into effect from 2016 is just that a care cap, not a board and lodging cap.”

Speaking afterwards, Cllr Rice said: “I fear some people think this ‘cap’ will mean that once they, their relatives, and the council have paid up to the cap – expected to be around £75,000 – that’s it, the rest of the funding will come from the council or the government.

“That is not so. A person in a residential home will continue to have to pay for their accommodation and food. At the moment the new legislation says it is only the care they receive which will be capped.”

And Cllr Rice told the meeting: “The Care Act will have financial implications. The government has told us all costs will be covered … we wait and see.”

Other items covered by Cllr Rice included how she believed the transfer of Public Health responsibilities back to local councils in 2013 means long-standing health inequalities are now being properly targeted in the borough.

She said: “We in Thurrock have embarked on a really positive journey improving Thurrock’s health outcomes.

“We know we have extremely high rates of overweight and obesity and high rates of smoking, coupled with poor diet and lack of exercise, giving us worse than average statistics for cancer, heart disease and stroke.

“But this in not all doom and gloom, The Public Health team has reviewed every contract transferred from the PCT and evaluated the outcomes of those contracts.

"In doing so I believe we will start to see a downward trend in our health inequalities once the new contracts and in some instances new providers are in place.”

Cllr Rice also told members “2013/14 was another year of good performance and progress for the department.

"Thurrock is one of the best performers in the country, when it comes to preventing delayed discharge from hospital, with 90 per cent of people discharged into a reablement or rehab service still living at home 91 days later.

"That not just a stat, its quality of life for our residents.”