12.02.13
Social care cap a ‘huge step forward’
The health sector has responded to the Government’s announcement of the funding structure for elderly social care, with many welcoming the cap on lifetime costs.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced yesterday that a £75,000 cap would be set, and the means test threshold would be raised to £123,000. The measures follow a report by Andrew Dilnot, who suggested a cap of around £35,000, and is estimated to help an extra 100,000 people who do not currently receive help under the existing system.
Care minister Norman Lamb called the move “the right thing to do”. He said: “With an ageing population at a time of financial difficulties, we’ve taken tough decisions to bring about real reforms that will give everyone a more certain future.”
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, commented: “The cap is a huge step forward and gives more certainty for people in meeting the costs of care, and will help care providers to plan the right services for those who need it.”
He called for Government to work more closely with housing, health and adult social care services to solve the care crisis, perhaps by pooling budgets to encourage more funding of housing-related support.
Richard Humphries, senior fellow at The King's Fund, said: “For the first time, individual liabilities will be limited, protecting people against the worst aspects of the current care lottery. The combined effect of the cap and a higher means test threshold will see more people receive public funding.”
But he criticised the high level of the cap and the length of time it will take to implement. “A cap of £75,000 will limit the number of people who will benefit from it – this should therefore be seen as a starting point for future governments to reduce the cap over time, as the economic position improves. Also, by the time it is implemented in 2017, it will be seven years since the government said in the coalition agreement that it understood the urgency of reforming social care.
“In the meantime, pressures on the current system will continue to grow, with many local authorities forced to make further cuts to services. With both the NHS and social care facing significant and growing funding pressures, it is clear that today's announcement is not the end of the journey – difficult choices lie ahead about how much to spend on health and social care and how to fund this.”
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