New government will not go ahead with previous social care charging reforms

Addressing the House of Commons yesterday (29 July 2024), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced that the UK Government will not be proceeding with the previous government’s adult social care charging reforms.

Under the previous social care charging reform plans, which were announced in September 2021, there was set to be an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime; the upper capital limit would rise to £100,000; and the lower capital limit would rise to £20,000. These reforms were initially due to come into force in October 2023.

Then, in the Autumn Statement 2022, it was announced that these reforms were delayed by two years to October 2025.

Now, the new government has unveiled that it will not be proceeding with these reforms in an effort to save money. According to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, this will save £1 billion next year and over £4 billion by 2029/2030.

This decision has been met with mixed reactions from the health and social care sector.

Anita Charlesworth, the Health Foundation’s Director of Research and REAL Centre, said: “It is deeply disappointing that the government has once again delayed long overdue reforms to cap the costs of care. After decades of political neglect, the social care system is in desperate need of reform to improve access to care and provide greater protection for people and their families against significant care costs.”

Cllr Martin Tett, Adult Social Care Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, commented: “Councils have supported the principle of the adult social care charging reforms, but we have always said that they must be fully funded by the government of the day. The County Councils Network’s recent analysis showed that the costs of the reforms has spiralled to a projected £30 billion in the decade after their introduction, with insufficient money committed to them.

“The government has felt it is unable to take forward these reforms in the current Parliament and we understand that this will be frustrating to campaigners. But with no funding committed to the reforms and with councils still facing acute workforce and system pressures, introducing these changes in October 2025 could have had some catastrophic consequences for council finances, health and care systems and individuals who currently receive services. Now, the government must prioritise addressing these current pressures at the forthcoming Spending Review.

“We must remember that reform to social care encompasses much more than charging reform. We want to work with this government on other key reform agendas, such as addressing the recruitment and retention crisis in the care workforce and on ensuring the day-to-day care services are sustainability funded and reformed in the long run.”

Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, responded: “Today, the Chancellor said that the social care system needs reform. We would go further and state that, fundamentally, the current social care system in England is not fit for purpose.

“The sector is financially stretched, struggling with staff vacancies, and too often unable to provide enough support to the people, families and carers who rely on care services.

“Social care reform will cost money, but the initial sums can be small, and the cost of not reforming social care is people struggling to fund, or even access, the support they need. Regrettably, after being postponed twice under previous governments, plans to introduce reforms to social care charging in 2025 have now been cancelled.

“Following today’s decision, the government now has no plan to address the core issue in adult social care – the growing mismatch between the population’s need for support, and the availability of publicly funded care. Since 2015/16, more people in England have been requesting social care support, but fewer are receiving it. The result is that many people’s needs are going unmet.

“The government has promised to develop a plan to reform adult social care, and we hope they will now work at pace to deliver it. There is undoubtedly a question of affordability, but there is also the question of whether we want to be a society that allows people’s care needs to go unmet.”