Social Care:
In the government proposals, many of those who receive state-funding to help with residential care would potentially be significantly better off as the value of their home can be taken into account in the means test calculations and the threshold for the test will be raised from £23,000 to £100,000. Some of those receive state-funded care in their own home could also be better off due to the higher threshold, but many will be worse off and I believe we need look at these proposals very carefully and make necessary changes prior to implementation. The government intends to cap the amount that anyone will have to pay for state-funded care and it will set this out in a green paper consultation later this year.
The Communities and Local Government Select Committee, of which I am a member, recently held an inquiry into adult social care. Our work included a visit to Berlin in order to look at how they had moved from a system that was similar to ours over 20 years ago to a social insurance scheme. I was very impressed at the way this had transformed their system and taken the politics out of social care. I have proposed we undertake further work on this, taking into account the new government proposals still on a cross-party basis, to make sure we develop a system that is fair and can stand the test of time.
You can download a full copy of the report here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/communities-and-local-government-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/adult-social-care-16-17/
Winter Fuel Payment:
I do believe that benefits should be focused on those who need them most, so do support the removal of Winter Fuel Payment for those who can afford to heat their homes without the help of other taxpayers. I am keen to hear from anyone who feels harshly treated when the new proposals are published. If re-elected I will of course, represent relevant views and do whatever I can to make sure that the policy is as fair as possible.