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A new NHS-style social care system for England could take decades to be implemented, economist Sir Andrew Dilnot has told the BBC that who led a commission proposing reform of the system 15 years ago, said Prime Minister Andy Burnham appeared to want social care to be completely free, including residential costs. And with Burnham promising to put his plans before voters at the next general election, Sir Andrew said change “is now further away”. Adult social care provides state support to help people live more independently, including assistance at home.
However, unlike the NHS, social care is not free at the point of use in England, leaving some people facing huge bills. Sir Andrew told the BBC change on social care “is now further away” than had been implied when Burnham first promised a new national care service for England in a speech in July, shortly after he became prime minister.
He pointed out that if proposals are included in Labour’s 2029 election manifesto, that would be 30 years after Sir Tony Blair launched a royal commission on social care and more than 15 years since his own commission reported back. The Health Foundation has estimated a universal social care system in England, with the government funding all support, could cost around £18.5bn a year.
On Sunday, Burnham said he believed the costs would be lower than this, but he has not set out how he would fund his plans. Sir Andrew said he believed an NHS-style social care system could cost “well in excess of £18bn”, although a Scottish model could cost half this figure. He added: “I also think that there was an indication in what [Burnham] said that he’s imagining something that could take many years, even many decades before it came to fruition.” Sir Andrew said he would “love to see such a scheme”, where all social care is government-funded, but “the cost would become very, very large”. He added that a system where the amount people must pay towards their care is capped, “could still work well for elderly people”.
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