THE BIG ISSUES

Professor June Andrews on why funding of care is an issue that cannot be ignored.

ON COSTS

Although it’s popular for people to imagine they won’t be held responsible for their ageing relatives, that’s just not feasible because of the demographics. Policies that move in the direction of more free care are very popular and welcomed by lots of people when they are announced but the assumption is it’s going to come from somewhere that is not going to hit any of us financially, and that’s just not possible.

ON ABROAD

In Singapore, people over 60 can file claims against children for not caring for them; in Bangladesh you may be fined or jailed for failing to pay up. The law usually states how much support the children need to provide and it is activated when the parent starts to need to be supported at public expense. In those countries children can only avoid it if there’s evidence their parents abandoned them – there are family courts and special tribunals that can decide on this.

ON FAMILIES

At the moment it’s hard to get families to have difficult discussions, especially about what should happen if frailty and dementia set in. Nor are family members open about what they earn or what savings they have. All of us need to have had mature discussions about how we are going to care for parents who become frail or have dementia: are we going to do it ourselves or pay for someone else to do it? Or do we assume the state will be there for us?

ON THE ISSUES

There would be a statutory framework and legislation could protect those family care workers by allowing them to be paid from the parents’ capital – for example four children might say “let one of us do it and pay her”, or “instead of a quarter share of mum’s inheritance, we will give her 50%”. You wouldn’t have affluent people’s parents living in care homes at public expense because the family had been devious enough to relieve their parents of all their goods before they reached the stage of needing care.

ON INSURANCE

If you gave me 10 years’ warning that I was going to be financially responsible for my parents I might take out an insurance policy or parents might do so to offset the financial burden on their children.

ON SAFETY NETS

The health and social care systems we have were designed for a population that wasn’t like the one we have now. With filial responsibility legislation, the NHS, local authorities, communities and the third sector would still be there and take up the slack after those with the family responsibility had done all they could . But this new system would release public resources for those who have inadequate or no family support. It would benefit those with the greatest need.