The government will propose a new cap to fund social care in its upcoming green paper, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has said.
At a hearing in front of the Economic Affairs committee in the House of Lords yesterday (11 September), Phillip Hammond said the green paper would set out several proposals for consideration to reflect different ways of delivering and funding the cap.
He said: "The taxpayer could fund the cap, there could be risk-pooling options - I don’t want to speculate on the range of options that the green paper might cover.
"The government is clear that everybody must have access to the care and support they need, but we are also clear that people should expect to continue to contribute to that care as part of preparation for later life."
Back in December, the government confirmed a proposed £72,500 cap on social care would be scrapped.
Prime minister Theresa May’s predecessor, David Cameron, had promised to bring in an upper limit on the amount people must pay towards their own care, following recommendations from the Dilnot commission in 2011.
But Mrs May's government said a green paper on long-term reform would be published this summer instead, which then got pushed back to the autumn.
The government has since hinted that the publication of the document could be further delayed, due to "unforeseen circumstances".
Matt Hancock is now in charge of delivering this paper, as he has replaced Jeremy Hunt as secretary of state for Health and Social Care.
Several solutions for the care funding problem are said to be on the table, including the ‘Care Isa’ – a capped savings product, exempt from inheritance tax – and a 'care pension', which mixes drawdown and care insurance.
It is estimated a mere 12 per cent of adults aged 55 or over are currently putting aside money to pay for their future care in the UK.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
