In the biggest
change to the welfare state since the creation of the NHS,
everyone who needs care when they are old or disabled will get it
for free, Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced today as he
launched the National Care Service in England.
The National Care Service will be based on a principle of shared
social insurance and will be funded by contributions from everyone
in a fair way. The National Care Service will ensure people get
high quality care when they need it and it will give peace of mind
that savings and homes will be protected from the expensive care
costs that arise from serious long term conditions, such as
Alzheimer’s or recovering from a stroke.
Andy Burnham said:
"Today we are launching a National Care Service that is
fair for all, ending the cruel care lottery we have today. Like
the NHS, everyone will contribute and everyone will get their care
for free when they need it. This is the biggest change to the
welfare state since 1948 and, like the NHS, it’s going to take
time to build.
"The National Care Service will mean that people will be
treated with dignity and respect, people will have control and
choice over their care and they will be helped to stay in their
homes for as long as possible. People who have to live in
residential care will, from 2014, get their care for free after
two years and there will be more help to pay the residential costs.
"We’re not replacing the millions of carers or families
who look after each other. They are the underlying principle of
the National Care Service and we will better support them.
"We’ve already laid strong foundations through reforms
over the past few years. But, with an ever growing older
population – there will be 1.7 million more people needing care in
the next 20 years – we must radically overhaul the way care is
paid for and provided.
"I feel very strongly that this is a responsibility we
must all help to shoulder. And it’s clear from what we have heard
from the thousands of people who have given us their opinions on
this over the past twelve months, that people agree. That’s why we
know that the fairest way to help everyone who is affected by a
serious disease, illness or disability is for us all to pay into a
system so we get free care when we need it."
The cost of care is currently a cruel lottery. No one has any way
of knowing how much care and support they may need in the future.
A 65-year-old can expect to need care costing on average £30,000
during retirement. However, some people, for example people with
severe dementia, could end up needing care costing as much as
£200,000.
The National Care Service will put an end to this unfair system.
It will be built on strong foundations of recent reforms and will
overhaul the way care and support is paid for and provided. It
cannot be built overnight and will be phased in three stages:
Stage One
- Build on the best of the current system through
reforms that are already underway and deliver the Personal Care at
Home Bill.
Stage Two
- From 2014 extend the coverage of free care so
that people will receive free care if they need to stay in
residential care for more than two years.
- Set up a commission to support consensus and advise the
Government on the fairest and most sustainable way that people can
make their contribution to a care system which is free when they
need it.
- Set up a National Care Service Leadership Group of expert
stakeholders who will advise Government on the implementation of
the National Care Service, focussing on the systems and business
processes that need to be put in place to make the National Care
Service a reality.
- Introduce a National Care Service Bill to set the legal
foundations of the National Care Service.
- Enshrine in law for the first time nationally consistent
eligibility criteria for social care helping to remove the
postcode lottery of care that exists now
- Push forward with the prevention agenda and continue the
drive towards personal budgets so that by 2012 everyone who would
benefit from a personal budget will have one.
- Ensure accurate, relevant and accessible information about
what people are entitled to, how the assessment process works and
how to access care services is provided to everyone.
- we want to improve the gateway for accessing social care
and disability benefits to make simpler and easier for people.
- Introduce a quality framework including a body to drive up
quality in social care.
Stage Three
- The introduction of a comprehensive National
Care Service that is free when they need it for all adults with an
eligible care need, funded by contributions.
Following the biggest ever consultation on care and support that
saw over 68,000 members of the public, carers and representative
organisations have their say, it is clear that people believe it
is right that everyone should contribute to a care system that is
free when people need it– similar to the NHS. However, the
necessary consensus on how people should pay into such a system
has not yet been reached. A National Care Service Commission, will
therefore be established to advise Ministers on the fairest and
most sustainable way for people to do so.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:
"We must find a fair way of funding the National Care
Service. The stakes are very high. That’s why we must have a clear
consensus. We are setting up a commission to tell us what would be
a fair way for everyone to pay into this new system.
"Everyone will pay into it in a fair way and in return
everyone will then have peace of mind that their savings and homes
will be protected from high care costs. The whole of society will
benefit and the National Care Service will support individuals and
families for generations to come."
The National Care Service will have six founding principles. It
will:
- Be universal – supporting all adults with care and support
needs within a framework of national entitlements.
- Be free at the point of use – based on need, rather than
the ability to pay.
- Work in partnership – with all the different organisations
and people who support individuals with care and support needs day-to-day.
- Ensure choice and control – treating everyone with respect
and dignity, ,putting people in charge of their lives.
- Support family, carers and community life – recognising the
vital contribution families, carers and communities play in
enabling people to realise their potential.
- Be accessible – easy to understand, helping people make the
right choices.
Notes to Editors
The White Paper, Building a National Care Service, was published
today and is available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk