What is the social care cap?
The cap is a lifetime limit of £86,000 on how much individuals will have to pay towards their care costs. First proposed more than a decade ago by the economist Sir Andrew Dilnot in a government-commissioned review, it is designed to allow individuals hit by hefty care costs to pass on more of their assets to their children, instead of seeing them wiped out. In September Boris Johnson announced the cap would be implemented from 2023, funded by a new £12bn-a-year “health and social care levy” that comes into force next April.
What has been announced ?
While MPs at Westminster were focused on the scandal over MPs’ second jobs, the government published new details of how the social care cap will operate. People with assets of less than £100,000 will receive means-tested support to help them pay for their care, under the new system.
But Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) guidance has revealed that only the amount these households contribute themselves – not the total cost of their care – will count towards the £86,000 cap. In other words, many will still end up paying a total of £86,000, the same contribution those with much larger assets will have to make.
That approach was rejected by the Dilnot review as “unfair for those on low incomes” because the net effect would be that this group “contribute more slowly, rather than contributing less overall” than much wealthier individuals.
What do experts make of the changes?
Sally Warren, director of policy at the King’s Fund, said the cap as described “no longer protects those with lower assets from catastrophic costs” when they need care.
Torsten Bell, of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, tweeted: “Here’s a simple way to think about the problem the government has created: if you own a £1m house in the home counties, over 90% of your assets are protected. If you’ve got a terraced house in Hartlepool (worth £70k) you can lose almost everything.”
Will MPs be given a vote on the cap?
Yes, the vote will be held on Monday evening. A cap on care costs was originally legislated for by MPs in the 2014 Care Act under David Cameron’s coalition government but never implemented. That legislation will now have to be amended to make it operate in the way the government is suggesting. This could give Conservative MPs concerned about the impact on lower-income households the opportunity to express their concerns and possibly rebel against the government.
And is £86,000 the maximum anyone will pay for their care?
No. The DHSC guidance also makes clear that, as expected and as Dilnot recommended, “daily living costs” will be excluded. These will be set at a nationwide flat rate of £200 a week. The guidance says: “People will remain responsible for their daily living costs throughout their care journey, including after they reach the cap.”
