Funding Social Care and Integration with Healthcare

• Rt Hon. Damian Green MP
• Cllr Ian Hudspeth Chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board
• Charles Tallack Assistant Director, the Health Foundation’s new Research and Economic Analysis for the Long term Centre

The funding of social care has been a very significant issue in the last and previous general elections with past proposals, the Conservative ‘dementia tax’ and the Labour ‘death tax’ both proving very unpopular.

In 2011, the Dilnot Commission recommended integration of social and health care and a cap on individuals’ lifetime contributions for their social care costs. In 2018, the LGA published Fairer Care Funding: their priorities were to close the funding gap with an injection of Government money and to prioritise investment in prevention, community and primary health services. In April 2019, Fixing the Care Crisis by Damian Green for the CPS recommended a state pension model – a ‘Universal Care Entitlement’ with people able to purchase a ‘Care Supplement’ for more expensive care – and shifting funding away from councils to Whitehall. The much delayed Green Paper on Social Care Funding was due in autumn last year. 

Additional funding for social care is needed very urgently and has significant knock-on effects for health care and wider society. In the longer-term there must be an early decision and consensus about the funding of care-homes and care at home.