Tesco old folks homes

Since the government has now effectively abandoned elderly people there’s a cruel twist to the property collapse. Older people who want to sell up to pay the obscene fees being demanded by residential care homes and councils – around £500 a week minimum but often rising way beyond that – can’t sell their homes.

So they or their loved ones have to try and borrow the money – not easy in this climate - and because the lenders know that times are hard they’re charging up to nine per cent or more in interest rates. That’s about four percentage points above base rate. Isn’t that a shocking indictment of Britain today? Wouldn’t it be heart-warming – and wouldn’t it to do a lot for the reputation of capitalism which has taken such a battering – if Tesco, for instance, were to wade in with a helping hand? Sir Terry Leahy’s empire has just turned in wopping profits and it’s said it’s going to offer mortgages and banking facilities. Well why not? The banks and the building societies are clearly useless at it. A bunch of big time grocers couldn’t do any worse.

But why doesn’t Tesco really live up to its slogan of Every Little Helps by offering three extra items? The first would be help with deposits for people who want to rent a property. It can sometimes be very difficult for people to raise, say, a deposit of four to six weeks in advance on a residential flat or a house they wish to rent. Yes, Alistair and Gordon et al, stuck in your Westminster bubbles, that’s the real world. It can be damn tough even for those who wish to rent. The second idea is this: Tesco might like to offer competitive Granny Bridging Loans for elderly folk and their relatives so that they could be eased into residential homes with a smidgeon of dignity left in their lives. Once their properties have been sold the loans would be repaid. But even if Tesco got involved the whole wretched business is still a disgrace. Why should people have to sell their homes to finance their twilight years? Britain is supposed to be a civilised society.

But you can go to some of the most remote corners on earth deep in forests or lost in swamps to find cultures which treat their older people with more respect and care. So the third thought is even more radical. Why don’t Tesco go the whole hog? Tesco’s got a big land bank. It could build residential homes of its own offering quality care at competitive rates. It’s a booming and lucrative market. Like food it’s recession proof. Everybody gets old. It’s a market that’s just waiting for some proper competition to shake it up and do it properly.

Residential homes have been hit by a succession of scandals. Every time you pick up a paper another home has been exposed for maltreating residents or employing too few real nurses. The government either doesn’t care or can’t afford to get too involved. Politicians have only ever paid lip service to the pensioner vote. So they rely more and more on the private sector. This would be a golden opportunity for Tesco to offer quality at a good price. C’mon Sir Terry. Now’s your chance. Fly the flag for truly Caring Capitalism!