Social Care reform in England to be unveiled by Prime Minister

UK PM Boris Johnson will set out plans to end “catastrophic costs” for social care users in England with long awaited reform proposals. He will announce this along with plans for money to help the NHS with the coronavirus pandemic.

The prime minister is expected to breach election promises with a 1.25% rise in National Insurance (NI). The move has received backlash from MPs, including some Tories.

It is widely accepted that the social care system is in need of major changes. Social care is there to help the elderly and people with disabilities to complete day-to-day tasks like washing, eating and medication.

Labour agree we need a reform, but criticise the proposal of raising NI. They claim it will unfairly target young people and those earning lower incomes. The proposed 1.25% increase means people on a salary of £30,000 will pay an extra £255 every year.

It is understood that pensioners in work will also have to pay the new “health and social care levy”, even though people at state pension age are exempt from paying NI.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi says the plans to “deal with a broken social care system” represent “truly historic and ambitious reform”. According to him, one in seven people pay £100,000 or more for social care.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is also expected to end the “triple lock” on pensions, so rises are not overtaken by the increasing cost of living. The Tories promised yearly increases in state pension in line with the rising cost of living/measure of inflation, increasing average wages, or 2.5%, whichever is highest.

Fixing England’s “broken” social care system

Boris Johnson will present plans to cabinet members, before setting out details in a statement to the Commons. Later, he will join the chancellor and Health Secretary Sajid Javid in a press conference.

On Monday, the government pledged an additional £5.4bn for the NHS in England over the next six months. This is designed to tackle backlogs made worse by the Covid pandemic. But today’s announcement will also allocate money long term, to increase hospital capacity. The NHS is “under enormous strain by the pandemic” and cannot “recover alone”.

The government will not “duck the tough decisions needed” to help the service and fix England’s “broken” social care system, with long term funding.

However, it is not known at this stage how much cash social care will get upfront, as support is “phased in”. Meanwhile, the NHS is the “main beneficiary of the NI hike for the first three years”.

People in the care sector hope that funding is for both the short and long term. They need something immediately because the majority of care providers are at “breaking point”.

What to expect

It is expected that the government will announce an increase in National Insurance, to raise billions of pounds. This is to help the NHS catch up after the pandemic, and to improve and help pay for social care in England. The potential £12 billion plus raised will target the health service first, before switching to social care after three years.

Changes to how the system works are also expected. This includes limiting the amount of money families need to pay for required care.

However, the plans have sparked a lot of criticism. During the 2019 general election, the Conservatives promised not to raise NI, income tax or VAT. They are now going back on this commitment.

While people agree help is urgently needed, they believe the rise in NI is “the wrong thing to do, and the wrong way to go about it”. Former prime minister Sir John Major even labels the proposal as “regressive”.

After taking office, Mr Johnson announced he had a “clear plan” to fix the “crisis” faced by the health and social care sector.

Reports suggest the introduction of a limit to the lifetime contributions individuals make, with taxpayers funding the rest of the costs.

The challenges social care is facing

• In 2019/20 requests for support rose to 1.9 million, an increase of 100,000 in five years.
• 1.4 million came from older people, but 560,00 were adults of working age.
• A total of 839,000 people received long term care.
• Despite rise in demand, total expenditure on adult social care was only £99m higher compared to 2010/11. Council spend in England was around 3% less than in 2010.
• An ageing population means growing demand.
• The care fees paid by local authorities massively vary.
• People not qualifying for free care often get charged more, without any limit on costs.
• A high number of staff shortages.

Separate solutions are needed across the four devolved UK nations, as each has their own social care system.

The provision of social care in England is not generally free. Only those with less than £23,250 worth of savings and assets can typically receive help from local authorities. There is no overall limit on costs in England, while some care expenses are capped in Wales. Personal care in Scotland is free for those assessed as needing it. But people in a home must still make a contribution towards costs of accommodation. Meanwhile, home care in Northern Ireland is free for those aged over 75 years.

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