Editorial Comment:

Today we report that the Treasury is exploring a “Care Isa” that would be exempt from Inheritance Tax – a sound idea for two good reasons. First, Britons need to be encouraged to prepare for old age. We’re living longer, which is a wonderful thing, but longevity does increase the chance of frailty or disease, at significant cost to the community. It’s important that the individual, if they can, makes proper provision. Yes, social care does need strong taxpayer funding. Yes, families can play a part. But an Isa that encourages individuals to put aside money specifically for their own care would be a marvellous innovation in personal responsibility.

Second, here would be a rare policy that doesn’t involve taxing us more. The Tories believe that to improve society, government has to “nudge” us towards good behaviour. That almost always means slapping a tax on something that politicians disapprove of (smoking, alcohol, or, the latest, disposable coffee cups). How nice that, for once, the Treasury is looking at what would amount to a tax break. If the Care Isa goes unused by its investor, the money can be passed on to relatives exempt from inheritance tax. Rising property prices mean more people are having to pay death duties: the bereaving had to fork out over £5billion last year, up 8 per cent on 2016-17. The tax is unjust; the threshold should be raised significantly.

In the meantime, creating a way of safeguarding part of one’s inheritance while also providing for emergencies seems like an equitable, conservative solution, and a welcome alternative to Labour’s constant emphasis upon tax, spend and the welfare state. The Care Isa sounds like an idea whose time has come.