A White Paper on the funding requirements for long term care, including a full response to the Royal...
A White Paper on the funding requirements for long term care, including a full response to the Royal Commission, will not be published until July, despite mounting criticism over lack of Government action.
The paper, which will be announced in the Commons, will outline the Government's proposals for full regulation of the long term care industry and include a full response to the Royal Commission.
The Commission's report, With Respect to Old Age, set out a range of options for changes to the funding system for long term care. It said that 'personal care' should be funded by general taxation, subject to means testing.
The report also recommended the setting up of a National Care Commission to oversee long term care and represent the interests of older people.
In December last year, Health Secretary Alan Milburn said the Government's Care Standards Bill would set up the National Care Standards Commission and that it was already acting on several of the recommendations. But he said decisions on the funding recommendations would have to be taken as part of the 2000 Spending Review.
The Care Standards Bill, currently before the Commons, is due to receive Royal Assent in the summer and the Care Standards Commission should be up and running by 2002.
It will enforce minimum standards for residential and domiciliary services and take up each of the four main roles suggested by the Royal Commission.
It will monitor and report on trends in long term care, as well as guide people to registered providers, investigate complaints and ensure consumers have clear and accurate information on services.
It will also be able to take a view on quality standards nationally, report on service performance against standards and will give providers advice on meeting the national standards.
Charging for social care is not new. Under the National Assistance Act 1948, a resident's resources are taken into account by the local authority in the assessment of their ability to reimburse the authority towards the cost of residential accommodation.
A person with capital of more than £16,000 is expected to pay the full charge for their accommodation, but the Royal Commission has recommended the limit be raised to £60,000.
Milburn hinted to the Royal College of Nursing last month that free care could be provided for all.
Lord Lipsey, a former member of the Royal Commission, told COVER: "I cannot speak for Alan Milburn, but there is an important distinction between free nursing care and free personal care, the latter being six times more expensive to implement.
"From the discussions I have had with Government, I am quietly confident that full regulation of the long term care industry will be announced in July."
