The Government needs to agree on care reforms by this summer, according to economist Andrew Dilnot

The link between individual savings and the cost of care provision is one of the key reasons why the Government should get behind care reform, according to leading economist Andrew Dilnot, chief architect of the Dilnot Commission and proposals to be debated in Parliament this spring, with the publication of a White Paper expected in April.

Currently local authorities are obliged to finance the care of individuals with less than £23,250 worth of assets, but where this threshold is breached individuals who have worked hard and saved all their lives are penalised by having no choice but to direct their savings into care provision.

The current threshold is detrimental to the argument that it is better to find employment than live on benefits, with recent figures confirming that the trend of elderly people being forced to sell their homes in order to finance residential care remains on the increase.

Speaking to the Westminster Health Forum this week, Andrew Dilnot labelled the current cap as ‘mind-numbingly stupid’ leading to a ‘massive incentive to cheat’, while the economist also put pressure on the Coalition to make sure that these vitals reforms are agreed upon by the summer.

The cap itself could prove the sticky issue, with anything from £35,000 to £100,000 being suggested, without yet much in the way of a positive Treasury response as to what level of cap can feasibly achieve financial backing from the public accounts.

An ageing populace clashing with local authority budget cuts has already, according to charity Age UK, led to a funding shortfall of £500m since the Coalition came to power. Without effective reform underway it is hard to imagine how the care sector will shoulder the burden of a demographic shift expected to play out over several decades.