Queen's speech is a damp squib on social care, 10 years on from Dilnot. We need to act now.

[Soroptimist]

Shockingly it is almost 10 years since Dilnot published his report on 4th July 2011, and since then there has been zero movement in legislation since then to provide fairer access to social care.

Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care & Support

About the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support - its recommendations and how it's likely to change the way care is paid for

www.ageuk.org.uk

These were his recommendations:

1. Setting the means-tested threshold from £23,500 to £100,000, so you don't pay anything unless you have more than £100k in savings/assets
2. Setting a cap of £35,000 on the amount of personal contributions so no-one spends more than this.
3. Increase awareness of Attendance Allowance so there is better take up
4. Reduce postcode lottery for care services by having a consistent level of eligibility across all councils.

Dilnot estimated the costs of this would be between £1.3 and £2.2 billion. To put this into context, the UK's overall spending on services in 2011 was £697 billion, so the costs would be the equivalent of £1 out of every £350 the government spends in total. Clearly this would need to be updated based on the current government spending.

Do you know how much we have spent so far in response to Covid? £355 billion in 2020/21. There is a magic money tree when a crisis is recognised, and by Jesus Mary Joseph and the wee donkey this is a social care crisis.

How much has Covid-19 cost the UK? The financial toll of the pandemic so far

The Government's response to coronavirus is the equivalent of nearly £7,000 per household

inews.co.uk

And yet in the Queen's speech today..."There is still no formal plan to reform social care, despite Johnson’s pledge to do so in his first speech as prime minister. The speech simply said proposals on social care “will be brought forward”, with no detail or timetable given."

Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘short-term gimmicks’ after Queen’s speech

Monarch unveils prime minister’s plans on free speech, policing and voter ID in pared-back ceremony

www.theguardian.com

How are we letting this happen? I am so beyond angry about this. No amount of charity campaigning has worked so far. Is it time for some direct action? I am thinking of peacefully standing outside parliament/Number 10 - if it's good enough for Greta it's good enough for me. Will you join me?

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

It's too late for me though I would still push for change in the hope it helps my children when my time comes...

I remember when Theresa May's proposals for a cap on the amount people should have to pay was derided as a 'dementia tax'. You must be joking! It would have saved my mother a lot of money and ultimately me.

If Dilnot's cap of £35,000 was in place, there'd be an extra £115,000 sitting in my bank account.

What's missing in those recommendations is any mention of the current scandal where self-funded residents are subsidizing council-funded residents in care homes that take both. In my mother's case, she paid £200 a week more than the council-funded lady in the identical room next door. This has to be stopped.

 

[Palerider]

Shockingly it is almost 10 years since Dilnot published his report on 4th July 2011, and since then there has been zero movement in legislation since then to provide fairer access to social care.

Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care & Support

About the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support - its recommendations and how it's likely to change the way care is paid for

www.ageuk.org.uk

These were his recommendations:

1. Setting the means-tested threshold from £23,500 to £100,000, so you don't pay anything unless you have more than £100k in savings/assets
2. Setting a cap of £35,000 on the amount of personal contributions so no-one spends more than this.
3. Increase awareness of Attendance Allowance so there is better take up
4. Reduce postcode lottery for care services by having a consistent level of eligibility across all councils.

Dilnot estimated the costs of this would be between £1.3 and £2.2 billion. To put this into context, the UK's overall spending on services in 2011 was £697 billion, so the costs would be the equivalent of £1 out of every £350 the government spends in total. Clearly this would need to be updated based on the current government spending.

Do you know how much we have spent so far in response to Covid? £355 billion in 2020/21. There is a magic money tree when a crisis is recognised, and by Jesus Mary Joseph and the wee donkey this is a social care crisis.

How much has Covid-19 cost the UK? The financial toll of the pandemic so far

The Government's response to coronavirus is the equivalent of nearly £7,000 per household

inews.co.uk

And yet in the Queen's speech today..."There is still no formal plan to reform social care, despite Johnson’s pledge to do so in his first speech as prime minister. The speech simply said proposals on social care “will be brought forward”, with no detail or timetable given."

Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘short-term gimmicks’ after Queen’s speech

Monarch unveils prime minister’s plans on free speech, policing and voter ID in pared-back ceremony

www.theguardian.com

How are we letting this happen? I am so beyond angry about this. No amount of charity campaigning has worked so far. Is it time for some direct action? I am thinking of peacefully standing outside parliament/Number 10 - if it's good enough for Greta it's good enough for me. Will you join me?

I have considered chaining myself to the railings of No 10

Successive Green Papers have been delayed on this and no government yet has broached this problem. I quite agree some crisies seem to warrant a magic money tree -some of which funded some very questionable projects during the heighth of the pandemic dilemma's, meanwhile in the rest of UK PWD and their carers are left with smarting eyes after a double blow -continued crisis in social care and the effects of lockdown.

We need to push goverment into taking action and coming up with a long term plan that reforms the unjust system we have now, no one should have to pay more than anyone else if they have to self fund (which I am not sure is a fair system given dementia is a physical disease just like cancer). But the real issue is that social care is seen as a cheap option, and correcting that mistake is not cheap at all. It was easy to take us down this path but its a lot harder to turn around and go back.

 

[Soroptimist]

It's too late for me though I would still push for change in the hope it helps my children when my time comes...

I remember when Theresa May's proposals for a cap on the amount people should have to pay was derided as a 'dementia tax'. You must be joking! It would have saved my mother a lot of money and ultimately me.

If Dilnot's cap of £35,000 was in place, there'd be an extra £115,000 sitting in my bank account.

What's missing in those recommendations is any mention of the current scandal where self-funded residents are subsidizing council-funded residents in care homes that take both. In my mother's case, she paid £200 a week more than the council-funded lady in the identical room next door. This has to be stopped.

Yes, as you say at this level of progress the problem will be around for my generation and the ones below!

The "self-funded pay more " issue is also hidden as the weekly care home costs quoted in the media are usually what the council pays, not what the self-funded pay. I rarely found care homes for less than £1200 per week.

 

[Soroptimist]

I have considered chaining myself to the railings of No 10

Successive Green Papers have been delayed on this and no government yet has broached this problem. I quite agree some crisies seem to warrant a magic money tree -some of which funded some very questionable projects during the heighth of the pandemic dilemma's, meanwhile in the rest of UK PWD and their carers are left with smarting eyes after a double blow -continued crisis in social care and the effects of lockdown.

We need to push goverment into taking action and coming up with a long term plan that reforms the unjust system we have now, no one should have to pay more than anyone else if they have to self fund (which I am not sure is a fair system given dementia is a physical disease just like cancer). But the real issue is that social care is seen as a cheap option, and correcting that mistake is not cheap at all. It was easy to take us down this path but its a lot harder to turn around and go back.

I think we should do it! The government are not doing anything but they all know what a mess it is. We need to be stronger in making sure they can't ignore this any more.

 

[Agzy]

Promises before elections are easy especially when shortcomings are obvious but then, post election another political promise broken. When will we ever learn?

 

[Rushdenboy]

So Prime Minster who stood on the the steps of number 10 and said that he has a plan for sorting the care system again put nothing in the queens speech to sort it out once and for all .Right that got the fury out of my system
What i belive should happen a threshold of £200 000 you have to sell property
a system is that is part of the N H S care homes run by the N H S stop using the national insurance put as general tax and ring Fence it for the N H S AND SOCIAL CARE.Set the retirement age at say 68 when a person reaches the age of 52 they pay 1% of their salary /wages into a care pot held by the treasury to pay for their care when they retire this would stop the post code lottery we have mow radical i know but it needs radical change

 

[canary]

Im sorry to say that this is exactly what I expected

 

[Kay111]

I didn't know anything about the Dilnot report. This is really sad but not surprising

 

[Lone Wolf]

The current system is profit centered care, not the person centered care that all the documentation, rules and guidelines try to make out.