Sunak axe hangs over £86k care costs cap
Limit may be delayed or axed
THERE was dismay last night over fears PM Rishi Sunak plans to shelve a cap on care costs.
The £86,000 lifetime costs ceiling, promised by ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was due next October.
However a Treasury source told the Mirror Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was considering a two-year delay in an attempt to save billions of pounds.
He is due to announce tax rises and spending cuts in his Autumn Statement on Thursday.
Delaying the plan would trigger claims the party has broken another manifesto pledge: that no one must sell their home to fund care.
Stephen Lowe, of retirement specialist Just Group, warned: “This rumoured delay would be a catastrophic failure to deliver on much-needed reforms.
“It will plunge millions of older, more vulnerable people into chaos and confusion as they wait for concrete action on social care before making their own plans.”
Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams added: “If the Chancellor does announce he is kicking it into the long grass, probably to disappear altogether, it will mean a lost decade or more [ for] social care.
“Whether the cap is delayed, abandoned or implemented, it is no substitute for proper reform that ensures everyone who has care needs receives a decent service.”
The Alzheimer’s Society insisted the
Tories “must not roll back on the cap”.
Associate director of advocacy Mark MacDonald said: “This social care reform was a crucial first step to tackle catastrophic care costs.”
On July 24, 2019, the day he became PM, Mr Johnson insisted he would “fix the crisis”.
He claimed to have a “clear plan to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve.” But Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said: “The grandiose claim of Boris Johnson that he ‘fixed’ social care was always bogus.”
Lib Dem health and social care spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Scrapping the cap on care costs, would be another betrayal by the Conservatives.” The Mirror is campaigning for Fair Care For All.
Scrapping the cap on costs would be another betrayal by the Tories
DAISY COOPER LIB DEM SPOKESWOMAN