The Select Committee report‚ Tackling Pensioner Poverty‚ rightly agrees the level of PEA is far too low for care home residents to live dignified lives and calls for it to be increased to £40 a week.  PEA is the allowance older care home residents with savings of less than £23‚000 get after they surrender their pensions and most of their assets to pay for care home fees. 

Under national means-testing rules‚ older people are left with a measly £21.90 to pay for essential personal items such as clothes‚ hairdressing‚ toiletries and reading materials.  Even worse‚ all too often older residents have to make the money stretch to essential services such as toenail cutting and chiropody.

Following a concerted campaign by Age Concern and Help the Aged to highlight the inadequacy of the PEA‚ the charity has accused ministers of betraying vulnerable care home residents.  Earlier this year‚ ministers reneged on previous commitments to consult on the level of the PEA and failed to address the issue in care and support Green Paper‚ published earlier this month. 

Andrew Harrop‚ Head of Public Policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged‚ said:  “The Government must listen to the Committee’s request to bring the PEA to a decent level.  Yet again‚ thousands of care home residents are expected to manage on a pitifully small amount for buying day-to-day essentials items to lead dignified lives.
 
“If the Government is serious about enabling older people in residential care to live with dignity‚ it should start by giving people an adequate sum of money to live on.”

To add your voice to the campaign‚ please sign up via our website at www.ageconcern.org.uk/PEA or by emailing campaigns@ace.org.uk.