King’s Fund to review 2006 Wanless report on funding care

The King’s Fund is to carry out a review of its 2006 report by Derek Wanless into the funding of older people’s social care.

The review, due out this autumn, will form part of the fund’s analysis of the Department of Health’s forthcoming green paper on the future funding of adult social care, due this month.

It is designed to update Wanless’s conclusions in the light of the growth of personalisation in adult social care and new demographic evidence. It will also consider evidence on future need for younger adult client groups, notably people with learning disabilities.

Funding for all

In his report, Wanless called for the means-tested funding system to be replaced by a model in which all care users would receive a basic level of funding which they could then top-up with matched funding from the state.

His other recommendations included redirecting spending on disability living allowance and attendance allowance, which are paid to disabled people as cash benefits, into the social care system.

The King’s Fund will also carry out a full analysis of all of options for reform in the green paper. This will test the proposed funding models against four tests:- whether they are fair, understandable to the public, effective in supporting independence and sustainable over the long-term.

Political volatility must not derail reform

King’s Fund senior fellow for social care Richard Humphries said it was vital that funding reform was not derailed by the current political and economic situation.

“Everyone who receives care and support needs it to get the attention it deserves and not get kicked into the long grass because of the political volatility,” he said.

His comments came as other social care leaders raised concerns that key reforms would be thrown off course by the recent political turmoil.

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More information

King’s Fund social care project