Social care boss discusses government spending reforms

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CEO of Lifted Care, Racheal Crook, told Express.co.uk many people requiring residential care may still have to sell their homes as additional costs like accommodation or food are not included in the £86,000 cap. The carer added the decision to receive care at home could stretch personal savings further and overall be a workaround from the reform flaw. She added while the reforms provide breathing room for families, many may still have to go through the “painful” and “emotional” process of selling their family house to plug the financial gaps in the Government’s plans.

Ms Crook explained to Express.co.uk many families would be relieved at the social care reforms but feared the measures did not go far enough. 

She explained: “So I think for many families this will bring a huge sense of relief, particularly for families in the past who have had to sell the home and that’s been deeply painful and upsetting.

“I think for many people that transition from their own home to a care home actually doesn’t go well but they’ve already sold the home so what are they going to do?

“And I think that moment of disruption is already really challenging, most people don’t really want to go into a care home and they don’t really want their loved ones to go into a care home.

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“It was already a really emotional experience and then having to lose the family home on top of that just makes it worse.

“So I think that for many people that are making them feel better.”

But Ms Crook pointed out that the social care cap does not cover all costs meaning homes may still be under threat.

She added: “I do think it’s important to recognise though that the cap doesn’t cover accommodation or food costs.

“And why does that matter, it means, if you’re in a care home only a very small proportion of the cost of the care home is going to be met by the cap which means you will still have to sell your home.

“I mean the cap is £86,000 right, that’s a really large amount of money so many people will still have to sell their homes.

“The Prime Minister was very careful not to say people will not have to sell their homes and so I do think people will still have to make that really difficult choice.”

When she was 24, Ms Crook cared for her mother who was diagnosed with dementia at just 56-years-old.

The Lifted CEO stressed much of the funding raised from the National Insurance increase would be targetted towards the NHS with social care only receiving a small amount.

Ms Crook added poor working conditions and pay, lack of a unified voice and being ignored by wider political debates means a looming crisis in social care is on the horizon.

Her company, Lifted, matches carers with those requiring home care which, in the long run, would save them thousands as many would not be subject to residential costs in care homes.

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The House of Commons voted by 319 to 248 in favour of a 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance contributions from next April.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced to the House of Commons an increase of National Insurance by 1.25 percentage points to pay for social care reforms and to clear the NHS backlog.

The increase, which will be put in place from April 2022, was met with widespread criticism with some stating the tax punishes workers and the young.

The Conservatives also promised in their 2019 manifesto they would not increase National Insurance.

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Unlike Income Tax, National Insurance contributions do not massively increase with income meaning those at the top and bottom of earning will essentially pay similar amounts.

But while the Labour Party voted against the measure and has been opposed to the increase, shadow ministers have struggled to come up with an alternative when quizzed.

From October 2023, an £86,000 cap on the cost of home or residential care will be introduced meaning individuals will not have to may that amount over their lifetime.

Additionally, those with assets less than £20,000 will not pay anything towards their care from their assets.

But the cap only applies to care costs meaning “hotel costs” – which include food, accommodation and cleaning which could cost over £10,000 a year – will still have to be paid for.

You can look at Lifted Care’s website here.

Lifted’s mailing list can also be found here.

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