Social care changes at-a-glance

3 years ago 43

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The government is promising an overhaul of the way social care is funded in England. So what's going to happen and how will it be paid for?

What is being proposed?

People will no longer pay any more than £86,000 in care costs - that is, for actual care, rather than accommodation - over their lifetime, from October 2023
Those with less than £20,000 in assets will have their care fully paid for
There will be help for people owning between £20,000 and £100,000 in assets
The amount of help given will be based on a means test, with the details of how this will work to be announced at a later date

National Insurance (NI) - which working people and their employers pay to ensure benefits like the state pension - will rise by 1.25% from next April
From April 2023, this extra payment will become a separate tax - called the Health and Social Care Levy - on earned income
The government says the changes will cost £255 a year for someone earning £30,000, and £505 a year for someone on £50,000
Shareholders will also have to pay 1.25% more in tax on the profits they make

The changes are expected to raise £12bn a year
The government says that, for three years, all the money will go towards easing the NHS backlog, before more of it being moved into social care

The government says £2.2bn will be made available
Personal care, such as help with washing and dressing, is currently free in Scotland for those assessed by their local authority as needing it
Some care costs are capped in Wales
And home care is free for the over-75s in Northern Ireland