Social care cap symbolises North-South divide – The Yorkshire Post says

CONTINUING the theme of the North-South divide, the Government only has itself to blame for the mounting mutiny over social care funding despite Boris Johnson’s protestations that it is “incredibly generous”.
Boris Johnson is facing a mounting mutiny over the cap on social care costs.Boris Johnson is facing a mounting mutiny over the cap on social care costs.
Boris Johnson is facing a mounting mutiny over the cap on social care costs.

After all, it took the Prime Minister over two years to publish the plan that he claimed was ready on the very day that he took office in July 2019.

And while MPs had time to debate – and back – the health and social care levy on National Insurance intended to prop up the public finances, Mr Johnson’s haste left no time for the wider merit of his reforms to receive the scrutiny that such a totemic issue deserves and requires.

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Yet, while it is widely expected that a £86,000 cap on care costs will be put in place from October 2023, the Government indicated last week in a policy paper that financial support from local councils will not count.

Boris Johnson is facing a mounting mutiny over the cap on social care costs.Boris Johnson is facing a mounting mutiny over the cap on social care costs.
Boris Johnson is facing a mounting mutiny over the cap on social care costs.

This has led to the widely-held view that poorer families, or people living in cheaper houses, will be disproportionately affected by the changes.

But, as Cathie Williams, chief executive of ADASS, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, pointed out in a letter to all MPs: “Proposals must work for parts of the country with lower house prices and ensure that some younger disabled people with modest assets do not find themselves paying for care for years before they get financial help.”

No one disputes the size of the task facing Mr Johnson over social care – one that will only intensify when the House of Lords seek to amend his strategy. What is debatable is the coherence of the Government’s approach when consensus is required.

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