News
Labour plans to radically overhaul funding for the care of older and disabled people have been set back by ongoing parliamentary rows and concerns that the new approach will be perceived as a raid on existing benefits.
The paper has been repeatedly postponed since the Spring and missed another launch deadline of Tuesday this week without any official explanation.
Early indications are that the government aims to end the current “postcode lottery” of social care by increasing National Insurance contributions to guarantee a minimum level of care for old people and the disabled.
In a major push for a fourth term, Labour are aiming to avoid the need for the elderly to have to sell their homes and deplete their capital in order to pay expensive nursing home fees.
Currently, most councils will not provide free social care if a person has assets in excess of £23,500. This accounts for 30 percent of care home residents. Under the present system, average care home bills for the elderly are £25,000 per year, with stay durations normally 2 years.
The green paper is to believed to include several alternative options to the existing system, with the prospect of a one-off payment of £12,000 (payable either on retirement or out of an estate after death) sparking criticism in some quarters.
Another bone of contention is the suggestion of replacing benefits worth £10 billion annually – attendance allowance and disability living allowance – into discretionary grants to pay for social care.
Concern over how these plans might be viewed in the run-up to a general election appears to be delaying publication of the report, which if not dealt with before the 21st July will have to wait until after the summer parliamentary recess.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown had been expected to present the paper to parliament this week, but the continuing controversy and internal rows have cast doubt over his direct involvement.
