Social care reforms announced

Most of the UK media is covering the announcement made in Parliament by Jeremy Hunt, Secretary State for Health, about proposed changes to social care.

The two confirmed points to have garnered the most media attention in the run-up to the announcement are:

• a ‘cost cap’ of £75,000 worth of care costs – after this point the state would step in to meet these care costs
• raising the current means-testing threshold for people to be eligible for state-funded social care from £23,520 to £123,000

The government expects these changes will lead to fewer people having to sell their homes in order to pay for their long-term care needs.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Hunt said that the current system was ‘desperately unfair’ as many older people face ‘limitless, often ruinous’ costs. The minister stated that he wants the country to be ‘one of the best places in the world to grow old’.

What is social care?

The term social care covers a range of services provided to help vulnerable people improve their quality of life and assist them with their day-to-day living.

People often requiring social care include:

• people with chronic (long-term) diseases
• people with disability
• the elderly – particularly those with age-related conditions, such as dementia

Social care services can include:

• healthcare
• equipment
• help in your home or in a care home
• community support and activities
• day centres

How does the current adult social care system work?

Currently, state funding for social care is based on two criteria:

• means – people with assets of more than £23,520 do not qualify for funding
• needs – most local authorities will only fund care for people assessed to have substantial or critical needs

The majority of people currently requiring social care pay for it privately. These are known as ‘self-funders’.

What prompted these reforms to adult social care?

Put simply, on average, the UK population is getting older.

When the welfare state was created in the early 20th century, it was not expected that people would someday routinely live into their 70s, 80s, and even 90s.

The increase in life expectancy is a good thing, however, it brings a new set of challenges.

While people are living longer, they are also spending more of their lives in ill health. Older people are more likely to have potentially complex care needs that can be expensive to manage.

Many people are currently ineligible for state-funded social care under the existing laws. To meet the costs of these care needs, these ‘self-funders’ have, in many cases, had to sell or remortgage their home, or sell other assets to pay for the costs of their care.

Without reforms, experts agree that the cost of social care for both the state (through taxes) and to ‘self-funders’ is likely to become increasingly problematic.

To try and find the best way to resolve some of the difficulties of fairly funding adult social care, the Department of Health set up a commission. This independent commission reported its findings to ministers in July 2011. The government considered these findings in its white paper on care and support published in July 2012, and in the drafting of the proposed new legislation.

What happens next?

The government has introduced a Social Care Bill which will need to be passed by the Houses of Parliament.

If the bill is successfully passed it is expected the amendments will come into force by 2017.