Delivering Dilnot

Reform held a high-level roundtable led by former Minister of State for Care and Support The Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP on the future of social care funding.

Social care is in crisis. Unmet care needs are on the rise; the number of people accessing local authority support is falling; and informal carers are increasingly being called upon to bridge this gap.

The Coalition set out an ambitious funding reform package to tackle these interrelated problems. In addition to extending the means test for government support, the then Government announced it would cap eligible social care costs for residents at £72,000. Originally scheduled to be implemented in 2016, the reforms have now been pushed back to 2020.

This event explored whether the proposed reforms need to be revised in light of recent changes to the policy framework – including the movement towards integrated health and social care, the roll out of freedom and choice in pensions – as well as the lack of evidence to suggest that a private insurance market will develop under the cap.