Social care charging system “unfair, unpredictable, and complex”: CIPFA

CIPFA has proposed five principles for a “sustainable and equitable” social care system, after finding several problems with the current charging system.

Its latest report, ‘Charging for adult social care in England: reform and routes forward’, calls for the provision of adequate funding in the short-term for services to recover and to deal with current challenges, and a commitment to adequate long-term funding to make services “fit for the future”. 

In 2021, the Government proposed changing the way that people are charged for adult social care in England. The proposed reforms comprise:

• Introducing an £86,000 cap on personal care costs
• Changes to the financial means test
• Implementation of Section 18(3) of the Care Act 2014
• Fair cost of care and market sustainability.

The CIPFA warned that these proposals will come with a “significant” cost to local authorities.

The report stated: “The funding proposed to implement the reforms has been widely recognised in local government and among providers to be insufficient”.

CIPFA noted that reform should specifically ensure that any reforms are “equitable” and do not benefit or disadvantage one group in society over another, and that local authorities are fully funded to implement the reforms. 

The organisation added: “With the delay of the implementation of the Government’s proposed adult social care charging reforms from October 2023 to October 2025, we have the opportunity to take stock of the reforms and to consider possible routes forward.”

The report outlined the following five principles for a “sustainable and equitable” social care system:

1. Start with a fresh understanding of needs, demand, cost and spending: a zero-based approach.
2. Provide adequate long-term funding and certainty of funding for social care services to recover and secure their financial sustainability.
3. Invest to rebalance spending from reaction to prevention, and to achieve value for money in the long term for the public pound and better outcomes for people.
4. Address unfairness in how the costs of care are met between generations, by place, income and wealth, and protect individuals of all ages against unlimited costs by pooling risks.
5. Reduce the barriers between social care and other public services to ensure greater policy alignment across government departments and financial alignment around the individual.

Dr. Will Burns, CIPFA Social Care Policy Advisor said: “The wider social care system is facing a myriad of challenges to do with workforce, unmet need, increasing demand, and the risk of market failure. Without stable and adequate long-term funding, effective public financial management is hindered. Short-term funding arrangements have impeded long-term planning, development, innovation and investment in social care. Charging reforms need to be fully funded for local authorities to implement them successfully.

“Among other recommendations, we’re calling on Government to:

• Produce a new impact assessment for social care charging reform
• Provide a long-term social care funding settlement
• Improve access to social care
• Introduce a cap on care costs that includes local authority contributions.” 

The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson