People should be protected from catastrophic costs of upfront care – Streeting
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People should be “protected from the catastrophic costs of upfront care” that see them forced to sell their homes, Wes Streeting has suggested. The Health Secretary was speaking as he announced the first steps towards creating a National Care Service, with an independent commission expected to begin in the spring.
The timeline means that proposals for the long-term funding and major reform of social care in England may not be delivered until 2028. Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that, for him, a national care service is “about national standards – consistent access to higher quality care for older and disabled people everywhere in the country”.
Asked whether it meant that people will not have to sell their homes to pay for their care, he said: “I would certainly like to see people protected from the catastrophic costs of upfront care that sees people forced to sell their homes and move out.”.
The Government came under fire last summer after Chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped proposals from Sir Andrew Dilnot, whose findings had been accepted by the previous government. That plan would have introduced an £86,000 cap on the amount an older or disabled person would have to pay towards their support at home or in care homes.
After spending £86,000 on their care, people with a high level of need would also have had their care costs paid for by local councils. The threshold for getting council support to pay for costs, before exceeding the cap, would also have meant people were allowed to keep more of their savings.
