Cost of caring for the elderly

The looming crisis simply cannot be ignored. The number of people aged 85 and over is predicted to double over the next two decades, and unless the system of care provision, and the associated costs, are overhauled, countless elderly people face a bleak future. Among the recommendations worthy of praise is the raising of the threshold for means-testing to £100,000.

It is a source of immense heartache and anger to many elderly people, and their families, that assets built up over a lifetime, whether they be savings or the value invested in their homes, can dwindle to nothing to pay for care, when the clear intention of those who have lived thriftily was to leave their children a legacy.

Reform, though, comes at a price, and the £2bn cost of changing the way in which care is paid for is a daunting challenge at a time of austerity. The Government has denied that it will turn its back on the Dilnot report; it is to be hoped it is as good as its word, because delaying change will only aggravate the problem.

Some notes of caution must be sounded, however. The report places great emphasis on the development of an insurance market to cover care costs, which suggests that the private sector is to take the lead on coping with increasing care needs. The current crisis engulfing the giant Southern Cross care group is a timely reminder that the private sector does not always get things right.

Additionally, there will be many older people already struggling to accommodate rising bills on a fixed pension who will wonder how they can find what may well be a substantial monthly premium in order to ensure proper care should the time come when they need it.

Nevertheless, the Dilnot report is a good starting point for a debate that must be informed by both practicality and compassion. This is not about arcane politics; it is about people’s lives.