Former Pensions Minister under David Cameron’s Conservative government Ros Altmann has launched another scathing attack on the Tory’s planned social care reforms.
The pensions expert said the policy plans, first drawn up in the Conservative Party manifesto, do not seem to have been thought through, are “a disaster” and “are never likely to be implemented”.
In its manifesto the party said it planned to raise the means-tested threshold for elderly care from £23,250 to £100,000 which would be taken from a person’s estate when they die. However, soon afterwards the party performed a u-turn on the policy, saying there would be a cap on social care spending – a clause in the policy not initially outlined in the manifesto.
Altmann (pictured) said the combination of means-testing winter fuel payments and “draconian” social care changes saw the traditional support among older voters waver, and ultimately cost May the general election.
She said: “There are so many reasons why the Tory manifesto care reforms were disastrous, not only because they were politically poisonous, but they would also actually make the care crisis worse.
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“[The social care policy] hits the very people who are most likely to vote Tory – those who own their own home, or who have built up a nest-egg or some assets to pass on to their loved ones.”
She added the policy was “all political pain, for no policy gain”.
Although party leader Theresa May called the snap election to gain a greater majority in parliament, the Tories failed to win an overall majority and are now facing governing with a minority government, possibly propped up by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
‘Discourages individuals from saving’
Altmann said there were “major flaws” in the policy, including discouraging individuals from saving for care, which she said people should be encouraged to do, similarly to how they are being incentivised to save for a pension.
She pointed out the policy may worsen NHS bed-blocking, as older people who owned their own home would have to pay for leaving hospital, thus providing an incentive to remain there.
It could also harm the NHS by prompting older people to try to get by without help, ultimately ending up in hospital after struggling to manage without the care they need, she said.
Altmann said she felt the policy could result in more people relying on state support, as it provided an incentive to give assets away earlier.
This could mean people deciding not to bother paying off their mortgages, or selling their home to give money to children, moving into rented accommodation or taking on more debt in later life.
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