Over two-thirds would pay more tax to fund free social care for all

Over two-thirds of people in England would be happy to pay more tax to fund free personal care for everyone, according to a charity.

The YouGov poll for Independent Age found 74 per cent of adults support the idea of universal free personal care and 69 per cent would be prepared to pay extra tax to fund it.

The most popular way of funding it would be through Income Tax with 27 per cent favouring this option and 25 per cent opting for National Insurance. Eleven per cent would choose to pay a new tax for people aged 40 and over and six per cent would want to pay a lump sum on retirement.

Free personal care would mean everyone would get support at home or in a care home for everyday tasks such as getting in and out of bed, getting dressed, preparing a meal or shopping. It would not cover costs such as food, utilities or other expenses.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Independent Age, said: “Many older people are being let down by a social care system in crisis that is failing to meet their needs. Giving older people the right to free personal care would change that. Not only is it what people want, but they are also willing to pay a bit more tax to get it. It is simple and costs a similar amount to the government’s preferred proposals.

“However, the government also needs to ensure people are getting the support they need, or the public will not tolerate contributing more in tax or other means to pay for social care.”

Independent Age believes free personal care would simplify the system as people would know exactly how much they would need to pay and what they would get in return. It would also make it easier to transfer people out of hospital and people would not have to sell their homes to pay for care.

Ms Morrison added: “In addition, free personal care would significantly reduce the number of older people marooned in hospital due to lack of available personal care, support the joining-up of health and social care support and ultimately enable many more older people to live independently and stay in their own homes for longer.”

If Income Tax was raised by one per cent, it would generate an extra £6.10bn by 2020/21. An individual on a national average salary of £26,832 would pay an extra £12.47 a month if their Income Tax contribution was raised by one per cent, according to the charity, which claims the policy would send a clear message about how we, as a country, value older people.

Free personal care at home for people aged 65 and over is currently available in Scotland.

You can read more about Independent Age’s proposal for free personal care, in its report, A Taxing Question: How to pay for free personal care, which it produced in conjunction with Grant Thornton UK LLP and The Social Market Foundation.