The Joseph Rowntree Foundation today urged the
government to consider a £775m package of immediate reforms to make
the adult care funding system fairer prior to any long-term changes
introduced by the forthcoming green paper.
In a report today, the research body said it could be a decade
before the reforms to the funding system in England, due to be
ushered in by this year's green paper, come into force.
However, it said there were immediate changes that could be made
that could alleviate pressures on service users, particularly older
people, including:-
- Increasing the number of people eligible for council-funded
care home placements by almost doubling the upper means-test
threshold for savings from £22,250 to £42,500. This would cost
£280m a year.
- Doubling the personal expenses allowance for publicly-funded
care home residents, currently worth £21.90 a week. This is
designed to cover items such as clothes and shoes. The reform would
cost £250m a year.
- Introducing free personal care for all social care
users requiring nursing care. This would cost £212m a year.
- Making a £33m investment in equity release schemes, allowing
older homeowners to pay for home-based care by deferring the costs
until their home is sold.
The JRF's lead on long-term care and the report's author, Sue
Collins, said: "These reforms could quickly make a difference to
older people and their carers struggling to cope under the present
system."
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