Brown promises to extend free social care
In todays Queens Speech, Gordon Brown is to promise further extension of free social care to the elderly. The care package would cover both domicilliary as well as care home based support and apply to the most need. The proposals would be funded by local and health authorities and are currently costed at £700m.
What is less clear is who would qualify for this support, and perhaps more criticaly, where the money would come from. With public finances in dissarray, it is clear that either party will be making significant cuts after the next election. If these proposals were to survive, the question must be asked what else would be cut to cover the cost.
Certainly, such proposals reflect growing political awareness of the ‘grey vote’ in an ageing population, which has found a focus around the issue of older people selling homes to pay for care.
In theory, there is some good news in this story for Care Homes – if state funding holds up it will be easier for homes to maintain occupancy. On the other hand, the likelihood is that funding will in fact continue to be tight and domicilliary care being seen as a cheaper alternative. In short, perhaps not as good news as it initialy looks.
Read more about social care in the queens speech
