Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called on Baroness Louise Casey to bring forward her review into adult social care by a year, as part of his pledge to tackle social care in the UK.
Speaking at Jewish Care in London, Burnham called it a “major dereliction of public duty” that the Government has not dealt with the challenge of social care and said it is “shameful” that politicians have placed point scoring above fixing the issue.
As well as asking Baroness Casey to bring forward her review, which was originally due in 2028, Burnham also pledged to focus on the social care workforce and initiate cross-party talks on social care.
He stressed the need to put differences aside and come together to find solutions, with an approach focused on problem solving rather than political point scoring.
Andy Burnham said: “I just don’t accept that this problem is too big to solve. What we need is a new way of doing politics where we come together, face the challenge head on and build an integrated system that gives people security and dignity.”
Burnham’s speech did not make reference to a speculated 10% death levy or changes to inheritance tax.
Marrianna Hunt, personal finance specialist at Fidelity International, said: “As more people live into their 80s, 90s and beyond, the challenge of funding later-life care is becoming increasingly important.”
Fidelity’s own research shows 74% of UK adults aged over 50 risk running out of money before reaching the age of 100, facing a funding shortfall of at least a decade. At the same time, concerns about later-life health are growing, with 40% of over-50s admitting a decline in physical health is their biggest worry in retirement and 24% concerned about their ability to afford social care costs such as care homes or support at home.
Despite this, 52% of over-50s have no plan in place for how they would pay for care or assistance in later life.
Hunt added: “This highlights the scale of the challenge facing individuals and families and underlines the importance of the Government’s efforts to address the future funding and provision of social care. Encouraging greater awareness and earlier planning will be essential if people are to feel financially secure throughout increasingly longer lives.”
Lucie Spencer, partner in financial planning at Evelyn Partners, said: “What unnerves many of our clients and their families is the prospect of snowballing care home fees wiping out their finances and assets, and maybe even forcing a home sale.
“Hundreds of thousands of families are navigating the care-funding maze themselves, and in many cases find that they must stump up the payments, often eating through carefully built-up savings, pensions and legacies in the process.
“Having an emergency fund for care in later life has been complicated by the forthcoming inclusion of pensions in inheritance tax next April, as pensions have been a very useful tax-efficient way to keep such a fund in place.”
Spencer said people should make sure they have a power of attorney in place for elderly relatives.
“If you do not have an LPA in place then your family will need to apply for a deputyship. This can take months to come through, adding delays when decisions need to be made.
“Deputyships also tend to be more costly than LPAs and it could leave you with someone managing your financial affairs who you might not have chosen. It also adds an additional layer of stress and complexity during what can be a difficult and emotional time for your loved ones,” she added.
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