Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 59
While the Government has provided funding for its charging reforms, we received many concerns that...
Recommendation
While the Government has provided funding for its charging reforms, we received many concerns that it has underestimated the combined cost of introducing a new cap and more generous means test, commencing Section 18(3) of the Care Act 2014 in respect of residential care, and the fair cost of care. It has since expressed its intention to stagger the rollout of Section 18(3), which may help to avert the worst-case scenario in terms of local authority capacity pressures and market sustainability. The 74 Long-term funding of adult social care Government should re-evaluate the combined impact of its charging reforms, Section 18(3), and the fair cost of care, to take account of the staggered rollout of Section 18(3). It should regularly monitor take-up of Section 18(3) and update its models accordingly. The Government should provide further funding to local authorities, if necessary, on top of additional funding for underlying pressures.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the committee's interest in proposals to improve fee transparency and describes existing initiatives like the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund and the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, as well as a commitment to consider changing the CQC registration regulations to require greater fee transparency.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
59
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
As announced in the Autumn Statement 2022, we listened to the concerns of local government and took the difficult decision to delay implementation of the planned reforms to the adult social care charging system (known as ‘charging reform’). Alongside this, the planned extension of Section 18(3) to enable self-funders in residential care to access local authority commissioning has also been delayed. This delay gives local authorities additional time to prepare for rollout, and none of the £3.6 billion announced for charging reform in 2021 has been diverted away. The savings from this decision are being retained in local authority budgets to help them meet the current pressures in social care. In fact, we are providing even more funding for adult social care on top of the £3.6 billion, with an additional £2.7 billion in new grant funding. This is because we are absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the right care and support they need, at the right time. The government published an initial impact assessment in January 2022, which sets out its modelling of the costs and benefits of charging reform. An updated impact assessment will be published in advance of implementation. Additionally, in preparing for implementation in October 2023, the government developed robust monitoring and evaluation plans for the rollout of charging reform to monitor short and long-term impacts on individuals and the care market. These plans will also be reviewed ahead of implementation. 12 Government response Conclusion 10 – assessor recruitment and training Conclusion 10 - While the changed timetable for rolling out Section 18(3) will help to stagger the additional assessments local authorities will need to conduct, we are nevertheless concerned about local authorities’ capacity to conduct tens of thousands of additional assessments, particularly given the size of the backlog that already exists. We are further concerned that the Government’s proposed workarounds will place additional strain on those requesting care and care workers, and could lead to an inconsistent service being provided and an increase in complaints.
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