Care Cap in crisis?

Earlier this month, the Government announced it will be delaying its flagship care policy of introducing a cap on the cost of care until 2020, amid concerns it will cost £6 billion over the next five years. The Government has stated that it cannot afford to make “expensive commitments like this” at a time of austerity. This decision will directly impact the cost of care for the thousands of families who had been expecting the cap to be put in place in April 2016, and may have important implications for the future funding of the care sector at a council level.

The move has elicited strong reactions from a number of political figures, who have questioned the financial implications of the decision and criticised the political manoeuvres surrounding its announcement. Moreover, questions have been raised as to whether this announcement actually signals the end of the care cap policy altogether.

The care cap policy, which was set to introduce a cap of £72,000 on the amount that any individual will have to spend on care in their lifetime, was a key provision of the Care Act 2014 and one of the central pledges in the Conservative election manifesto. The manifesto had promised to introduce the cap in April 2016, to ensure that “no-one has to sell their home” to pay for their care.

However, this delay may mean that many pensioners will have to do just that. Indeed, a number of politicians have been quick to highlight the financial impact it will have on the thousands of families who had been anticipating the introduction of the cap. Paul Burstow, the former Liberal Democrat care minister who helped devise the cap, said: “The decision to delay the cap will leave thousands of families facing catastrophic care costs”. This sentiment has been echoed by Sarah Wollaston, Conservative MP and Chair of the Health Select Committee, who described the costs in the same terms, telling the Observer: "At the heart of this are the very serious unanswered questions for those families who are facing catastrophic care costs who thought this issue had been resolved."

She has also criticised the Government for the political machinations around the announcement, given that it was delivered in a written statement to the House of Lords, on a day the House of Commons was not sitting, two days before the parliamentary summer recess. In a letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt she expressed her 'concern at the way this announcement was made' and sought clarification on many aspects of the policy U-turn.

Questions have also been raised as to whether this announcement actually signals the abandonment of the care cap policy altogether. Richard Humphries, Assistant Director of The King’s Fund, said: "Postponement to the end of this parliament makes it almost certain that these reforms will not happen. In effect they have abandoned, not postponed." These concerns are somewhat legitimate, given that there is no telling what the financial situation of the care sector, or the nation as a whole, will be in four years’ time. Moreover, the new proposed introduction date, April 2020, will be weeks before the next general election, meaning the political landscape of the country could change dramatically at exactly the same time as the introduction of the policy.

However, some have supported the policy delay and welcomed it as a pragmatic response to the crisis-state of the care sector. Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director for Age UK, said: "The Government is right to delay implementing the cap on care costs as the top priority must be to stop the social care system… from collapsing in its entirety. At the moment there are growing concerns that the social care system is in a cataclysmic state of decline and unsustainable on its current basis. From this point of view introducing the care cap would have been a distraction."

The Local Government Association also welcomed the decision, hailing it as "a positive recognition from the Government… that we cannot try and reform the way people pay for adult social care when the system itself is on such an unstable foundation." The LGA had asked for the money allocated to the care-cap scheme to be used instead to plug a £700m a year social care funding gap for councils.

Whilst the Government has stated that it remains 'firmly committed' to the care cap, the fears over its future are not wholly unjustified. Four years is certainly a significant period of time for both political and economic developments, and the Government’s approach to announcing the policy delay could indeed suggest a degree of insecurity and uncertainty over its future. For those seeking answers, September may provide a clearer indication of the Government’s intentions, as Jeremy Hunt will appear before the Health Select Committee and will undoubtedly be questioned on this month’s announcement.