Care Support Independence

The Prime Minister announced on 29th September that people with the highest needs will be offered free personal care in their own homes.

The move is intended to support all adults with the highest needs in England.  It will enable all those people with the greatest care needs to protect their savings, including, for example, many people with serious dementia or multiple sensory impairments, potentially saving those people thousands of pounds per year - which many currently find from their savings.

By supporting all adults with the greatest needs to remain in their own homes, the government will also cut the overall stress and costs of care and support to individuals.

We know that there are a number of challenges facing our care and support system.  This is why we are currently consulting on a Green Paper, ‘Shaping the Future of Care Together’, which sets out a vision to build a National Care Service for the future – this is the ‘Big Care Debate’.  We want to hear people’s views on the proposals, which set how we should create and fund a sustainable system for the long term.

But that doesn’t mean we should stand still today. The Prime Minister’s announcement is a move to supporting those most in need in the current system and tackling the rising costs people are facing today. This is a step towards creating a fully integrated National Care Service for the future.

The money for this policy will be met from reprioritised central budgets and we will be working with stakeholders to make sure other services aren’t affected.

It is expected that this policy, following legislation, will be implemented in October 2010.  We will be working with stakeholders over the coming months and further clarity on the scope of the proposals will be published.