Dr Jonathan Carr-West, Director of LGiU commented:
“The Government has finally taken steps to tackle the funding of adult social care 14 years after the Royal Commission reported. During this generation of inaction councils have been faced with the double challenge of a steadily ageing population and dwindling resources so the Chancellor’s promise of a “fully-funded” solution will be welcomed by councils across the country.”
LGiU has warned that the Dilnot proposals are aimed at keeping people in their homes rather than addressing the deep-seated problems with paying for social care for those with modest means. For many people, costs of £75K will represent a large of portion of their asset base. We should also be clear that the proposals will not limit an individual’s total liability to £75K as they will still have to pay for accommodation and food and, once they have reached the cap, will have to make good any difference between their care fees and the council’s standard rate.
Dr Carr-West warned:
“Councils will also want to see details of the funding as the proposals open them up to significant extra cost. Councils in areas of high asset value and high care costs will find themselves paying for the care of many previous self funders because they have reached the cap, whereas councils in areas of low property values will find themselves funding may new people who fall below the new asset disregard threshold. This will create a very uneven and unpredictable picture which will not provide sufficient certainty to allow the development of insurance products to fund care.
We would urge the Government to consider a variable cap on contributions so that people paid a fixed percentage of their assets as this would remove regional variation and would ensure that all self funders benefited from the proposals, not just the 16% whose care costs exceed the £75k cap.”
For more information, please see our report on the findings of the inquiry into the future of adult social care held by the All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group. The full report is available here.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
For more information, please contact Lizzie Greenhalgh on 0207 554 2800 or by emailing lizzie.greenhalgh@
About LGiU
The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) is an award winning think tank and membership organisation. Our mission is to strengthen local democracy to put citizens in control of their own lives, communities and local services.
Our team of policy experts and other staff provides practical policy advice, learning and development programmes, events and conferences, consultancy and other resources to our members and other organisations.
