England 'left behind' in race to resolve social care funding problems, charity warns

Despite government consultations, official commissions, green and white papers and an act of parliament, England's system of means-tested care funding is broadly unchanged, Age UK says

In England, anyone with savings or assets above £23,250 has to pay all the costs of their long-term care (Getty)

England has been “left behind in the race” to resolve its social care funding problems, a charity has warned.

Age UK said an entire generation of elderly people had “lost out” after various proposed care reforms had been left to “gather dust”.

The comments came after a new report compared social care systems across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan.

While the authors said they did not find a “magic bullet” solution – every country is facing some problems – they concluded England comes across “rather badly” compared with other systems.

The report, conducted by Incisive Health on behalf of Age UK, states that no government “is yet to really grip the issues”.

Age UK said despite two government consultations, two official commissions, five green or white papers and one act of parliament, England’s system of means-tested care funding is broadly unchanged.

The authors of the report highlight that people with care needs in the countries compared get a more generous financial deal than those in England – where anyone with savings or assets above £23,250 has to pay all the costs of their long-term care.

Other countries generally either provide some non-means-tested basic level of support, and/or cap the amount of co-payment to be made, and/or use a more gradual means-test, the report adds.

“Sadly, this new report shows that England has been left behind in the race to update the funding of care for older people, compared to some other similar nations,” said Age UK’s charity director, Caroline Abrahams.

“As a result, our older people and their families are paying more and bearing a lot more of the risk of needing expensive long-term care.

“The reality is that an entire generation of older people in England has lost out, given that Germany embarked on care funding reforms in 1995 and Japan in 2000. Here, we have had to make do with a succession of consultations gathering dust.

“It is crucial that the forthcoming social care green paper isn’t yet another failed exercise.

“The evidence from other countries is that a package of measures that significantly improve the care offer to older people attracts a lot more public support than something more timid – the public isn’t stupid and will demand good value in return for paying more.”

Commenting on the analysis, James Jamieson, vice chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Adult social care is at breaking point due to years of underfunding, rising demand and costs for care and support.

He said council taxpayers “cannot bear the costs of solving this crisis on their own” and that there is a “pressing need” to bridge a £3.5bn funding gap facing adult social care by 2025 just to maintain existing standards of care.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have provided local authorities access to £9.4bn in dedicated social care funding over the last three years.

“Our green paper due in the autumn will set out our plans to reform the social care system to ensure it’s sustainable for the future.”

PA