Ditching of social care plan is a tragedy – Dilnot

There is a 25-year history of plans to reform social care being ditched by different governments. Sir Andrew’s plans have come the closest to being implemented.

He proposed a cap on social care costs in 2011 and the government passed legislation to introduce it in 2014 but its implementation was later delayed.

New proposals to put in place a cap were announced in 2021 and due to start in October 2023.

That was then delayed until October 2025, but councils were allowed to keep money intended to prepare for the changes.

However, that money has since been spent by councils to ease financial pressures, leading to what the IFS called a £4bn “hole”.

Addressing MPs on Monday, Ms Reeves said she understood why people were angry adding: “I am angry too.”

She accused the previous government of making “commitment after commitment without knowing where the money was going to come from”.

Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the BBC that Ms Reeves “knew about” spending pressures adding: “If there is any black hole, it’s of Rachel Reeves’s own making.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said the government was committed to tackling the challenges, but pointed out the difficulties with next year’s deadlines.

“Preparations have not been made, the reforms have not been funded, and social care providers say it will be impossible to deliver them by October 2025,” he said.

The government has talked about introducing a Royal Commission to draw up a plan for social care with cross-party agreement.

But in 1997 the new Labour government also set-up a Royal Commission to recommend reform – those ideas, which included free personal care for people, were introduced in Scotland, but in England were deemed too expensive.

Many who work in or use care services will view another commission or inquiry as a way of kicking plans for reform even further down the road.

And delay has a financial and human cost – both in terms of increased pressures on the NHS and on families struggling to cope with a broken system.