Royal Commission for elderly care proposals
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Health secretary Andy Burnham is expected to announce a Royal Commission to draw up proposals for a care service after 2015 in a White Paper on social care due out today.
The commission will consider when and how a fee should be applied to help pay for social care for adults in England. A compulsory charge is opposed by the Conservatives, who dubbed one proposal for a levy on estates, outlined in last year’s green paper, a “death tax”.
According to reports, Burnham will propose new laws to cap residential costs after two years in a home by freezing inheritance tax, increasing the statutory retirement age of 65 and through greater efficiencies in the care system. He is also expected to remove the “postcode lottery” where councils set their own criteria to decide who qualifies for free care.
When pressed on the issue at last night’s Chancellor debate on Channel 4 by Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, Chancellor Alistair Darling appeared to pull away from the “death tax” option, telling viewers they will have to wait for today’s white paper.
Burnham is expected to say today that he still prefers some kind of compulsory levy, although a panel of independent experts will decide how to proceed.
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