Scrapped social care costs cap ‘was undeliverable’, minister tells critics

A cap on social care costs which was delayed by the Tories will not be taken forward by the new Labour Government as it was “undeliverable”, a minister has said.

Baroness Merron (pictured) told Parliament there was “little alternative” but to shelve the unfunded plans.

The Labour frontbencher was responding after being tackled over the “widespread dismay” at the cancellation of the adult social care charging reforms.

An £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England has to spend on their personal care over their lifetime had already been delayed by the Conservative government from October 2023 to October 2025.

Last month, the Government said the decision not to proceed with charging reforms next year would save a projected £1 billion by the end of that year.

The decision to scrap the reforms “means the risk of extremely high social care costs” of potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds for people, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned, while Age UK branded it as “really bad news for all those older people who were hoping against hope for some relief from their sky-high care bills”.

But the County Councils Network said it would be “impossible” to deliver the reforms from autumn 2025 as costs had risen and added that going ahead could have risked “serious consequences”, including cuts to other council services.

Challenged at Westminster, Lady Merron said: “Our vision is to create a national care service underpinned by national standards and delivered locally, supporting people to live independently for as long as possible.

“We will also establish the first-ever fair pay agreement for care professionals. We will engage widely with the sector and people with lived experience to inform these plans.”

Tory former cabinet minister Lord Young of Cookham said: “I welcome the proposals to improve pay and conditions for those working in the adult care sector… But is she aware of the widespread dismay at the cancellation of the proposals for reform, due to come in next year, without anything being put in their place?”

He urged the Government to “make progress straight away”.

Lady Merron said: “I understand that, whenever there is a change in direction, there is concern.

“The inherited commitment to implement the adult social care charging reforms, which would have been on course for next month, was undeliverable because the previous government did not guarantee the money to do that. It would have cost nearly £1 billion next year, rising to £4 billion by the end of the decade.

“There were many false dawns in respect of this long — and repeatedly — promised change.”

She added: “It is also the case that there was not adequate preparation to implement the charging reforms. Councils warned that they were impossible to deliver in full in the previously announced timeframe.

“With all that in mind, I am sorry to say that we, as the new Government, had little alternative but to say that these were not funded or on course to be delivered.

“We will have to ensure that we offer a national care service, along with a new deal for care workers. We will continue to consult and listen to those with lived experience in order to get it right.”

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