Coalition cracks grow over Dilnot LTC plans

26 January 2012 12:00 pm | By Tom Selby

Senior Liberal Democrat sources have raised concerns about Andrew Dilnot’s long-term care funding plans, saying the proposals are expensive, bureaucratic and regressive.

The Dilnot commission report, published in July last year, calls for a cap on individuals’ lifetime contributions to social care costs of between £25,000 and £50,000, with £35,000 the recommended figure. When the cap is reached, any remaining care costs would be met by the Government.

A senior LibDem MP told Money Marketing: “The concept of a cap is a good one but it is not clear how this is going to be funded and there is no money available from existing resources.

“Given that this will help better-off people, because the reform is targeted at people who have resources, you could only really justify it if you raised the money in a progressive way or it will be a very regressive measure. We could potentially be creating quite a bureaucratic system. There are also serious issues over how the incentives work and whether it will encourage people to invest in preventive care. When you add those things together, there are big issues to be resolved before we can endorse it.”

In November, Money Marketing reported industry concern that the Government’s decision to publish its social care white paper separate from Dilnot’s funding recommendations will see the reforms sidelined. The Government is expected to produce the white paper by May.

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