Only radical reform can save care system

The care system for older people will be unable to meet the
growing needs of an ageing population unless it is radically
reformed, a new paper from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
argues.

The charity claims the present system will not be able to handle
the predicted doubling of the over-80 population in the next 30
years, and that most of the extra funding required will fall on
people who will find it difficult to pay.

The paper’s author, JRF special adviser Donald Hirsch, said the
amount of money in real terms needed to fund long-term care would
quadruple in 50 years.

The paper claims the system does not provide a clear-cut set of
entitlements according to the care people need, or a “well-accepted
set of rules” about how much they should contribute according to
their ability to pay.

The charity says there should be a limit placed on the extent to
which people must use the proceeds from selling their homes before
they are eligible for local authority support for care costs.

• Facing the Cost of Long-term Care: Towards a Sustainable
  Funding System from www.jrf.org.uk