IN 2019 in his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson promised to fix the crisis in social care “once and for all” and he had a plan to do so. Two years later a plan is announced.
The new tax will bring welcome money to be used but only a fraction of this will be directed to social care. The extra £36bn generated over three years (about the same as the cost of the maligned ‘test and trace’ system over the past 16 months!) will largely be directed to the NHS.
Ideas about the integration of health and social care have not gone beyond future ‘choice’ and ‘flexibility’. Meaningless words without context and so very disappointing.
The proposed changes will reduce the amount some people pay for care. Importantly for the Tory base this will mean preserving people’s inheritance.
However, the plans do little to address the systemic issues facing the sector. It’s not just providing extra cash, there needs to be a vision of how to use it.
Just in case you didn’t notice, Mr Johnson has managed to create a social care plan that essentially has no plan for social care. Unbelievable!
D Duell, Durham.
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