Minister courts controversy over care funding

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The minister for care services caused controversy over funding options for a proposed national care service at the meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on housing and care for older people this week.

Phil Hope said he wanted to "invoke the legacy of Beveridge" when he addressed the APPG at its first event since the summer, in a meeting devoted to the green paper, Shaping the Future of Care and Support.

Outlining the funding options under consideration by the government he listed three "viable possibilities": means-tested contributions; an insurance scheme; and a "comprehensive option" where everyone "chipped in to a pot" similar to the national insurance scheme which funds the NHS.

Establishing the "comprehensive option" as his preferred choice, he poured cold water on the other options, citing a low expected take-up of around 20 per cent under the insurance scheme, and called means-testing "unfair".

But the minister was attacked by a member of the audience for ruling out funding the proposed overhaul from general taxation before the consultation had ended.

In response, Hope stated that care paid directly from general taxation was "politically and financially unworkable" and would cause a large burden on young people.

He told the questioner: "It won’t work in any mathematical model... you are fighting a losing battle."

In a move against the minister, however, Niall Dickson, of the Kings Fund, demanded that the financial models be released, stating: "The arguments against a full tax system are somewhat lacking without them."

Dismissing government plans further, he stated that young people with disabilities would never get insurance entitlement, and called for "an intelligent social care system, not one which drains individual wealth".

Meanwhile, Donald Hirsch, an economist, backed public and user contributions and called for a universal entitlement.

He also stressed the need for cross-party co-operation on the issue, and expressed his concern that the parties were "not even talking in private".

The minister said that the need for reform was caused by a "huge demographic challenge", with increasing life expectancy, and promised a new focus on those with learning difficulties and those living at home with the highest care needs.

He also spoke of his concern that money is flowing from younger generations to older generations, a problem which "has to be addressed".

The government will publish its plans soon after the consultation ends on the 13th of November.