Figures published on arrangements where property value helps pay for care home costs

New statistics on deferred payment agreements with local authorities for adult social care have been published today by NHS Digital.

A deferred payment agreement is an arrangement with the local authority that enables people to use the value of their homes to help pay for care home costs.   If eligible, the local authority will help to pay a client’s care home bills on their behalf.  The client can delay repaying the local authority until they choose to sell their home, or until after their death.

The Deferred Payment Agreements (DPA) Report, England 2019-20 provides information on the number and associated monetary value of adult social care deferred payment agreements in England for 2019-20.

It also includes the number and value of DPAs ended, written off and recovered.

There is also information on the type of DPA, the reason for a DPA being requested and the duration of the agreement.

Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) and the extra pressures felt by local authorities, collection deadlines for information about DPAs were extended from August to October 2020.   A number of local authorities have also advised that it was not possible to quality assure adult social care submissions to the same extent as in previous years, so it is important to consider this when reviewing this year’s data and changes over time.