Over the last seven years the Conservative led government has delivered some of the highest ever increases in state pensions through the triple lock and also we have protected all pensioner allowances. As a result, pensioner poverty is at its lowest levels ever. I am sure you can remember Gordon Brown’s Labour government who thought so little of our older generation that he increased the State Pension by a measly 75p a week in 2000 but thankfully those days are over and the new pension proposals in the Conservative manifesto will deliver the Triple Lock until 2020 then a rise lined to average wages or inflation – whichever is the highest.
All pensioner benefits such as free bus passes, eye tests, prescriptions and TV licences will be maintained by the next Conservative government but after years of people asking why they were receiving money in Winter Fuel Payments that they did not need, this allowance will be linked to pensioner income with the level set after extensive consultation with charities and pensioner groups. All the money saved from this change will go to support the spiralling social care budget and I think this is an absolutely fair and sensible proposal as do many people I have talked to over the past few days.
Social care will receive some more funding as a result of these changes but it is quite clear that the system needs a full overhaul. Prices of care are spiralling; many people are not getting the support they need and the current funding arrangements are complex and unfair. And with more than two million more people over 75 years old in Britain over the next decade alone, the system will collapse unless you elect a Government who is not afraid to address the issue.
Currently, all social care is means tested, with the amount you pay linked to your income or assets. But there is a difference in means testing depending on whether you receive care in their own home or in residential accommodation. If you receive care in your home (ancillary care) then your income and assets excluding your house are included in means testing but if you move into residential care, then the amount you pay can be taken from your income and assets including your house right down to the last £23,250. Under our plans, whether you receive ancillary or residential care the means test is based on the same income and assets, including property, but the means tested threshold will go up to £100,000 meaning that instead of £23,250 you will be able to pass on a minimum of £100,000 as an inheritance –a fourfold increase. There will also be an absolute cap set on the amount people must pay and no one will have to sell their house in their lifetime to pay for care of any sort.
The advantage of this change is that many people currently move between the two care systems (ancillary or residential care) depending on their health and needs but with different assessments you cannot make reliable financial plans or choose the right care plan for your needs. Under our proposals, people will be able to get the care level and quality that suits them secure in the knowledge that the funding plan is consistent and fair. It is also fair to those who are paying for social care out of their taxes and with those of us who will be needing care in the next few decades relying on a smaller group of working age people, again this seems like a very sensible move.
There have been questions about cap levels and interest rates and all of the final details will be worked out after the Election in a Green Paper, which will also set out key proposals to link up social care and the NHS as is being done successfully in some pilot areas and which has seen real improvements in reduced hospital stays and the provision of better care. If elected, I will follow these proposals closely and will be happy to speak up to ensure we get the best possible social care plans as a result.
I am personally proud to be supporting Theresa May’s plans which are sensible and provide the beginning of a solution to social care without increasing taxes on younger generations. The other parties have no practical answers to the problem of funding care – indeed Comrade Corbyn has set out a nonsensical, fantasy policy that can only be funded through massive tax rises on younger generations.