Dilnot Independent Commission poised to advise Government on elderly care provision

The conclusions of the 12-month Independent Commission into the provision of elderly care services, chaired by Andrew Dilnot, are now imminent, expected to be revealed on the 4th July. One of the first announcements of the incoming Coalition last year, the reforms that result from the Commission’s direction are seen throughout the care industry as the most crucial legislation that care services will have seen for many generations, as the UK adjusts to meet the unprecedented challenges brought on by an ageing population.

Healthcare experts are hoping for a clear view of the road ahead to emerge out of twelve months of speculation, but for care reform itself the difficulty does not end on Monday, more likely it begins. Even if Dilnot’s conclusions are well-received by Government ministers and backbenchers, the new measures will then still have to be stomached by the wider public, the vast majority of whom won’t necessarily be up-to-date on why effective care budgeting is such a pressing issue.

On the other hand, for the healthcare sector, there is already a distinct impression of what care reform will contain, even if some of the specifics and practicalities have yet to be clarified. It is known that the Commission favours asking the elderly to contribute more through taxation and that the elderly community have themselves been consulted in the process and agreed that younger generations should not bear the burden for their care needs. Dilnot is also expected to suggest a number of practical mechanisms for directing more money into the care system, including the support of ‘risk-pooling’ to allow for more versatile care insurance policies to be set up, as well as the reform of the current tax-free benefit Attendance Allowance.

If approved, Dilnot’s conclusions will also be felt throughout Local Government, as a new National Assessment and Entitlement criteria is also expected. Holding local authorities to an agreed level of care provision is seen as vital throughout the care community for protecting those with the most vulnerable needs, a measure that could hardly be more apt as figures show councils cut down on care expenditure despite the Government having directed more money into social care in particular. If successful the new criteria could finally bring an end to the ‘postcode lottery’ that families face when sourcing care for their loved ones, but, in the process, might just lead to a complete restructuring of how Local Government functions.

Demographic experts and care providers will have been waiting for these reforms for a long time and no doubt will watch how Dilnot’s conclusions are received next week with great interest. It would certainly be fair to say that many would prefer these measures to be introduced at a time of popular, rather than divisive, Government. This week Jane Ashcroft the chief executive of Anchor, one of the UK’s leading care home owners, suggested that ‘the Dilnot Commission’s findings will be met with a hostile reaction from the public’. Such anxiety might be expected given how unpopular public sector cuts have been across the UK, and in a week seeing the first major strike action of this Parliament. Less predictable, however, are the first rumours of discontent within the House of Commons itself, with Chancellor George Osborne rumoured to be unhappy with some of the Commission’s findings.

We’ll be following the reaction closely throughout the carehome.co.uk News pages during the course of next week.