The Queen has said the hoped-for long term care legislation, through the Health and Social Care Bill, is to be passed in the 2013/2014 Parliamentary session.
She said in the opening of her Parliament speech today: "Legislation will be introduced to reform the way long-term care is paid for, to ensure the elderly do not have to sell their homes to meet their care bills."
Experts have applauded the Government's green light on the issue.
Prof Jon Glasby, professor of heath and social care and director of the Health Service Management Centre at the University of Birmingham, said: "The Queen's Speech highlights legislation to reform the funding of long-term care so that older people don't need to sell their homes to pay for their care.
"However, this feels quite a narrow way of framing a broader issue.
"What is really at stake here is how much we value older people as a society and what sort of life we want to have together. We then need to decide how we will pay for the services we want."
Chris Horlick, managing director of care at Partnership said the Bill will go a long way to help reform the adult social care sector in England.
He said: "The new legislation will also help the 57% of people in England who currently fund all or some of their care to access information and advice about their care needs.
"As part of this, it is essential that it includes referral to regulated financial advice so that self-funders are aware of all the available options to fund their care. We therefore hope that this is explicitly included as part of the Bill."
29 November 2021
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2 min read
