The Commission, chaired by economist Andrew Dilnot, was set up by the UK Government in July 2010 to make recommendations on how to achieve an affordable and sustainable funding system for care and support, for all adults in England.
Among its recommendations, the report proposes that
- individuals‘ lifetime contributions towards their care costs should be capped at a recommended £35,000, after which they would be eligible for full state support;
- the means-tested threshold, above which people are liable for their full care costs, should be increased from £23,250 to £100,000
- national eligibility criteria and portable assessments should be introduced to ensure greater consistency;
- all those who enter adulthood with a care and support need should be eligible for free support immediately, rather than being subjected to a means test; and
- universal disability benefits for people of all ages should continue as now, though they should be better aligned with the reformed social care funding system
The Welsh Government has its own programme for renewal of social services in Wales, as set out in its recent Paper Sustainable Social Services for Wales: A Framework for Action. The First Minister has signalled the Welsh Government's intention to bring forward a major social services Bill to implement that Paper. That Bill could provide an opportunity to legislate in Wales on any relevant elements arising from the Dilnot report, if the Welsh Government so chose.
Although the Dilnot report applies to England only, Welsh Ministers have a long-standing commitment to building a new system of paying for social care that is fair, affordable and sustainable in the long term. Over the past few years the Welsh Government has issued a Green Paper and undertaken extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders across Wales, to find out what kind of system would command broad political and public support here.
The Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services Gwenda Thomas, said:
“I welcome the publication of this report on long term care funding in England. This is an issue of vital importance for people in Wales, as well as the rest of the UK, and I would want to see a fair and sustainable system in place here.
"That is why we have already taken action in Wales to cap charging for social care - we have introduced a weekly maximum charge of £50 for non-residential care and I am delighted to see that people across Wales are now feeling the benefits of that change. I am pleased to see that the Dilnot Commission is following a similarly pragmatic and straightforward approach in making its key recommendations around capping an individual's lifetime contribution towards care costs. Some aspects of the recommendations made could have implications for Wales and I will want to discuss these with UK Government as early as possible.”
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