Last year a report from Policy Exchange, the centre-right think tank founded by Michael Gove, proposed bringing social care into line with the NHS and making it free at the point of use. The £11 billion cost should, it argued, be funded from general taxation, with a £5,000 means-tested annual contribution from those who need social care. The plan was even more generous than Labour’s manifesto pledge to introduce free personal care (help with washing and dressing) but it is now being taken seriously by ministers.
It is significant that the foreword was written by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons leader who is hardly a champion of socialism. “This is one area, it is clear, where the state has a significant role to play,” he argued, insisting that the policy was “something we can afford as a nation”.
Another proposal being considered by Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is for people over 40 to pay an extra social care tax. The third model under consideration — referred to in Whitehall as “free personal care plus” — would give the elderly help with washing and dressing and also remove the value of a home from the means-test for residential care. Senior Tories accept, however, that there is a simplicity in creating a universal system that creates a level playing field between those with different conditions.
