Introducing an NHS-style model of universal and comprehensive care could cost an extra £17bn

Ending the cycle of broken promises to reform social care funding in England must be a priority for the next government, a Health Foundation report says.

Currently, one in seven people aged 65 and over face care costs over £100,000. The government only covers the costs of care for people with the highest needs and lowest means. Everyone else must pay for care themselves, get help from friends or family, or go without.

The report sets out cost estimates for three options to protect people against the costs of care.

It estimates providing basic protection for all against some care costs, with a Scottish-style model of ‘free personal care’ in England, could cost an extra £6 billion in 2026-27, rising to around £7 billion by 2035-36.

The report also says protecting people with the greatest lifetime care needs against catastrophic costs, by introducing a Dilnot-style ‘cap’ set at £86,000, could cost an extra £500 million in 2026-27, rising to around £3.5 billion by 2035-36.

Finally, it estimates that introducing an NHS-style model of universal and comprehensive care could cost an extra £17 billion by 2035-36.

The next government will face tough spending decisions, but a better, fairer, and more generous social care system is affordable, according to the report.

By 2035-36, the cost of the current government’s version of the Dilnot model is equivalent to around 0.2 percent of GDP or an estimated £4.25 per household per week.

Successive governments have ditched or delayed plans to reform funding for social care, leaving people suffering unnecessarily.

Tony Blair promised reform in 1997. A decade ago, the coalition government legislated for a Dilnot-style cap on care costs, but its introduction was later delayed.

In 2021, Boris Johnson announced that the cap would finally be implemented. However, the government has since delayed the cap until 2025, after the next election. Ultimately, progress will not happen without political will and leadership, says the Health Foundation.

The analysis primarily focuses on funding reform, but a wider package of investment and reform in social care is also desperately needed, the Health Foundation underline.

Alongside funding reform, a credible plan for social care must include policies and funding to improve people’s access to good care, boost pay and conditions for staff, and better support unpaid carers.

Charles Tallack, Director of Data Analytics at the Health Foundation, said: “Despite the pressing need for change, successive governments have failed to reform the funding of social care, leaving a catalogue of broken promises, delays and abandoned manifesto commitments whilst people continue to suffer under a care cost lottery.

“There are a number of options for reform but legislation already on the Statute Book to introduce a cap on the lifetime costs of care and give more people state support means that a solution is within reach. There can be no excuse for inaction and prolonging one of the biggest public policy failures of our generation.”

A report was released to set out how the health and social care system can work better this winter by avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions and improving patient flow.