Budget 2026: 'I'm 92 and need more government help with care bills'

A 92-year-old grandad has welcomed the Chancellor John Healey's help with household bills but says more needs to be done to provide elderly care. Pensioner David Gower is paying up to £200-a-week from his personal pension to cover supplementary personal care. His private pension from British Rail is largely spent on that and two extra hours of domestic support weekly, adding up to £10,400-a-year. He had called on Andy Burnham to help in his first budget as Prime Minister.

Stay up to date with everything announced in our Budget 2026 live coverage . To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed. Last year, he spent around £700 on legal fees battling his local authority over care provision. The rest of his near £13,000-a-year state pension goes toward household bills and the costs of his sheltered accommodation.

He said: "I am glad of the changes on household bills, some of the changes were very good. But I am disappointed there was no special provision for carers. There should be more support for them." A widower, dad-of-two and grandfather, he lives in sheltered accommodation in the south Midlands, where professional carers visit him four times a day. As his care package is insufficient, he pays for additional supplementary assistance. It provides time for general cleaning, laundry, and changing bed linen.

David retired after 35 year as a technical assistant with British Rail and therefore does not qualify for Pension Credit. He receives Carer's Allowance, which pays up to £86.45-a-week. He is left with just a few pounds a month after paying all his bills. He believes the Prime Minister is right to focus on social care reform, but says questions remain about how it will be funded. He cannot get around without a wheelchair following a stroke 14 years ago.

He said: "My carers are not paid mileage or any allowances. "The Government needs to look at this issue seriously. "All parties should work together on the issue of elderly care and how to pay for it."