Burnham Seeks 2027 Social Care Reform Report as Costs Could Reach £18.5 Billion
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 10
Burnham Seeks 2027 Social Care Reform Report as Costs Could Reach £18.5 Billion
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 10
Summary
Baroness Louise Casey has been asked by Prime Minister Andy Burnham to speed up a government-commissioned adult social care review and deliver recommendations next year.
£4 billion to £18.5 billion a year is the estimated cost of reform a decade from now, depending on whether ministers adopt a Dilnot-style cap on care costs or a full NHS-style national care service.
£80,000 to £100,000 is the current estimated range for a lifetime care-cost cap that could make liabilities insurable, reviving a core idea from Andrew Dilnot’s 2011 review.
£3.7 trillion of housing wealth held by over-55s and products such as equity release, care annuities and adapted life insurance are being floated as ways for finance groups to shoulder more of the burden.
Tax rises remain one option, but the broader debate is whether Britain can build a fairer care system by combining limited state backing with mandatory or incentivised private funding.