During yesterday’s daily Downing Street briefing, Matt Hancock was asked by the BBC about his party’s election manifesto promises concerning social care reform.
Prior to the December general election, the Conservative party manifesto promised to reform social care. Matt Hancock was asked at the briefing yesterday by the BBC whether the government was still planning a cap on care fees that have to be met directly, and whether he accepted that social care reform could not be put off again.
Mr Hancock acknowledged that the current COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that the healthcare sector and the social care sector needed to be more closely aligned, but that organisational and bureaucratic boundaries stood in the way of this. He confirmed that, as set out in the manifesto, the government was working hard to ensure the social care sector was as strong and sustainable as it can be.
He also accepted that people should not have to sell their homes in order to pay for care, and that it was impossible to know in advance whether someone would require care in old age. He could not however provide an update on timing due to dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic.
We have discussed this manifesto promise in our blogs before and after the UK December 2019 general election. We are still however without a clear picture as to the government’s proposals for social care reform. A fundamental review of how the sector is funded and the interface with Local Authority and the NHS would seem to be on the cards. Quite what the implications for care home owners and managers, staff and residents will be however remains to be seen.
Jennifer Johnston, Associate, BLM
jennifer.johnston@blmlaw.com
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