Government to announce changes in social care

The government is set to introduce changes to social care which will cap the amount any individual will have to pay for their own care and will enable the elderly to move around the country more easily.

Though cross-party talks on funding long-term care for the elderly appear to have broken down, the government is set to go ahead and announce the changes in a report alongside the publication of a white paper into the issue. In the report the government will state that it broadly accepts the recommendations put forward by Andrew Dilnot which proposed a scheme for funding long-term care.

The health secretary Andrew Lansley will announce that the state will assist with care costs if the person concerned has savings and assets below £100,000 compared to the current £23,250, while it will also recommend a maximum of £35,000 that any one person would have to pay towards their own care costs, though it is unclear exactly when this will come into force.

The reforms in the white paper will concentrate on a national minimum eligibility threshold which will inform the elderly of the care they are entitled to and will also introduce rules on “portability” to make it easier for elderly people to move around the country, perhaps following relatives, and receive suitable care as soon as they arrive in a new area.

The health secretary Andrew Lansley said that by bringing in a new minimum eligibility threshold, people will have a clearer picture of what to expect and will “not see access to care vary depending on where they live”.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jul/09/elderly-minimum-standard