20 July 2010
Andrew Dilnot, a former director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is to chair the government’s commission on social care funding.
Dilnot led the IFS from 1991 until 2002 and is currently principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford and a pro vice chancellor of Oxford University.
He will be supported by two other commissioners: Lord Warner, a former Labour health minister, and Dame JoWilliams, acting chair of Care Quality Commission.
The terms ofreference for the commission were also published today. The commission will examine and provide recommendations on the best way to meet care and support costs as a partnership between individuals and the state; how an individual’s assets can be protected against the cost of care; how public funding for the care and support system can be best used; and how best to achieve the preferred option, which will include an assessment of the impact on local government.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the commission will consider a range of funding options, including voluntary insurance and partnership schemes.
‘We must develop a funding system for adult care and support that offers choice, is fair, provides value for money and is sustainable for the public finances in the long term,’ he said.
Lansley added that Dilnot would bring a ‘powerful analysis, rigour and expertise to the debate’.
Commenting on his appointment, Dilnot said: ‘How we best look after those who need care and support is one of the most pressing social policy challenges facing our society today. With more people living longer, we urgently need to find a fair and sustainable way to pay for the care which many of us will need.
‘There are not going to be any easy answers, and I know difficult decisions will have to be made. I am looking forward to examining all the issues, and listening to the ideas of those who have been working on care and support over the past few years.’
