Plans to end a lottery which forces many elderly people in Gloucestershire to sell their homes to pay for care have been unveiled.

But people in the county gave the proposals, outlined in yesterday's Queen's speech, a lukewarm reaction.

Critics argued that funding the measure would come from cutting disabled benefits.

Tory MP for the Forest of Dean Mark Harper said: "We want to help people with their care costs but not at the expense of disabled pensioners.

"Much of the funding for this government's proposed national care service will be found by cutting disabled benefits, taking an average of £3,400 a year from 2.4 million people."

Jeremy Long, 47, from Hucclecote, said he had seen his aunt Lillian Long spend her £60,000 savings over the past three years on £22,000-a-year residential home fees.

And now her £146,000 Hucclecote home has been sold so she can carry on living at a Cheltenham residential home.

Mr Long said: "I am pleased about the announcement but it has come too late. My aunt is of the old bulldog breed. She has put her back in to this country in her lifetime but what is she getting back now?

"Others go in to care homes with nothing and have it all paid for.

"Her and my uncle saved all their lives and now it's being taken away."

Yesterday's proposals were seen as a first step in ending the current lottery under which some elderly people have to sell their homes and use their life savings to pay for care, while others pay nothing. The personal care at home bill is intended to enable elderly and disabled people to remain in their own homes rather than going into residential care.

Officials estimate that about 400,000 people will benefit from the measures in the bill, which will cost £670 million-a-year to implement.

They include a guarantee of free personal care at home for up to 280,000 people with the greatest needs – although 166,000 already receive free care. A further 130,000 who need home care will also benefit for the first time from other measures including adaptations to their homes – such as the installation of electronic pill dispensers – so they can carry on living there for as long as possible.

Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda said: "People with dementia are a particularly important and vulnerable group that everybody in society would want to support and if we can give them free personal care that's got to be a big step in the right direction."

Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper said: "This Queen's speech is all about the labour party saving itself – not serving the country."

Around 1,200 of Gloucestershire's elderly people are paying for all their care in residential homes.

While 48 per cent get help with their fees, only eight per cent have all their fees paid for them – and the other 44 per cent's savings and value in their homes are being eaten away.

Under the Government's current rules, in many cases, an elderly person going in to one of Gloucestershire's 2,755 residential care beds must pay all of their fees if they have more than £23,000 in capital. And after that is whittled away, many face selling their homes to pay for care.

There are 2,755 residential care beds registered with the Care Quality Commission in Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire County Council says vacancy rates are low.

On March 31 this year, eight per cent of beds were occupied by people who had made no contribution to the cost of their care during the previous financial year, another 48 per cent of residents receive some level of funding from GCC. Thirty-six per cent who are partially or totally funded pay less than 10 per cent of the cost of their care.

How much is paid is laid down by the Government, not the county council.

There are 3,288 nursing care beds registered with the Care Quality Commission in Gloucestershire and vacancy rates are also generally low.

As of March 31, 2009, two per cent of beds were occupied by people who had made no contribution to the cost of their care during the previous financial year. Twenty five per cent received some level of funding from GCC, though a much higher proportion received some funding from health budgets.