12 December 2008
By Paul Dicken
Local variation in state-supported care for older people should be replaced by a national framework setting out minimum entitlements, according to a landmark report into the future of social care.
The Resolution Foundation published the findings of a year-long review into long-term care for older people on December 8.
The report said that local authorities should have a strategic role overseeing and shaping a local market for providing care. However, entitlement to state support for care should be set at a national level to 'bring clarity to the entire system by defining roles and responsibilities'.
Clive Cowdery, chair of the foundation, said: 'The social care market needs reform before new levels of state funding can be determined. Low earners will then know what to expect from the state and what they need to do themselves.'
Paul McCann, director of policy at Help the Aged, said the report offered a 'coherent and structured way of tackling the issues of entitlement, navigation and care options, which adds to the growing chorus of voices calling for change'.
The report, Navigating the way, also identified a lack of information and support for people in understanding the availability of care and how it can be accessed.
It recommended the creation of a 'first-stop shop' at national level, linked to local networks providing 'universal and integrated support'.
The national minimum entitlement for all those over 65 would include regular care and wellbeing assessments; access to a navigation service; and a minimum package of care and support for those who need it.
The report emphasised the idea of a 'mixed market' for funding, bringing together state-sponsored and private mechanisms.
It proposed equity release schemes, pre-funded long-term care insurance and long-term savings products, encouraged by tax incentives as possible options.
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