Dilnot is sound, insists ADASS president

In his final blog as president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Peter Hay has insisted that the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission to reform care are sound and should be adopted.

Hay reckoned the proposals on qualifying for state care if assets are over £23,500 was “based on an approach that resonates right back to the very origins of the welfare state”. The approach covers everybody and is consistent with the idea that care reform is “not just about the state funding of social care”.

He said that ADASS thinks the advice of finance experts that insurance products can’t offer protection to the population has to be taken seriously. “We are persuaded that a capped system offers the most ways in which people can make their financial contribution,” he said. “We think this includes savings, deferred payments, equity release, pensions and savings products.”

Hay added: “For all our sakes, as we age, don’t dismiss the offer of reform that is on the table now. It would set back the reform of care for an indefinite period. I can not support that for others, and I do not want to grow old myself, fearing an unreformed system with uncertainty about how it’s paid for.”