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SPOTLIGHT |
A High Court ruling has provided important clarity for local authorities on limitation periods and care home recovery, writes Jonathan Auburn.
Last year I wrote about the issue of the limitation period for claims brought by local authorities for recovery of care home fees which they have paid and seek to recover from the individual care home resident or their estate. At the time I was concerned that there may be a gap in the law. Curiously, that article itself led to a court case which has now resolved the issue.
The issue, in a nutshell is this: section 69(3)(b) of the Care Act 2014 provides for a three year limitation period on claims brought by local authorities for the recovery of care home fees. This appeared to represent no change in the law. Yet the previous limitation period, applicable when section 56 of the National Assistance Act 1948 still governed such claims, was generally six years rather than three.
The case that resolved the matter is Nottinghamshire County Council v Estate of Mr Wilfred Belton and Mr Ian Belton [2017] EW Misc 26 (CC). The Council brought a claim against the estate and the deceased resident’s son as transferee. At the first instance hearing the limitation period had not been raised during pleadings, nor at any point in the trial, until the defendants’ closing submissions, at which point the second defendant, acting in person, handed up to the court the article referenced above, and with it the issue of the length of the limitation period. The first instance judge found for the Council on all matters, though admittedly without dealing with the limitation issue. The defendants appealed on the limitation point.
The legal point was fully argued out on appeal, with a detailed investigation of the limitation issue across the pre- and post-Care Act provisions, and in particular the effect of the transitional provisions. The court ruled as follows -
This judgment brings some much needed clarity to what has been an uncertain issue in the law of care home fees recovery. The question remaining now is what is left of the three-year limitation period which section 69 of the Care Act 2014 appears at first blush to impose as a general rule.
Jonathan Auburn is a barrister at 11KBW. He can be contacted on 020 7632 8500 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This article first appeared on the set's Community Care Law Blog.