Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow, until the reshuffle the Lib Dem health minister, has written an article in today’s Telegraph with a plea for the Coalition to ‘be bold and take the decisions needed to fix our broken social care system’. Here are a couple of excerpts, first looking at why Paul fears the reforms he pushed in government might not go anywhere:

The Coalition understood the “urgent need for reform”, and has been wrestling with these issues since May 2010. In July the White Paper I drafted was published. It tackles much that is wrong with care. Widely welcomed, it offered a vision of a better more compassionate care system. But the plan left unanswered the issue that makes so many people feel angry and let down, who pays for care?

Of course, if fixing this was easy the last Labour Government would have done it in those halcyon days when Chancellor Brown told us he had ended boom and bust.

So, why did Labour fail? And why, despite the signs the Prime Minister had changed his mind over the Summer, could the Coalition fail too? Answer: HM Treasury. The Treasury’s view is simple: kick the can down the road despite our rising elderly population. There’s no sense of urgency. No recognition that left unreformed there is no incentive for families to plan and prepare.

However, Paul hasn’t given up hope yet that the plan for a cap on lifetime care costs will definitely fall:

The good news is so far the Treasury has failed to smother the latest plan, a cap on lifetime care costs.
A cap would mean that care costs would be predictable, that families could plan, that thrift and hard work would be recognised. It would give families peace of mind. But these reforms only work if everyone can benefit from the cap.
There are some in the Coalition who think a “voluntary” cap would work, that for a fee, people could opt in. For me and my fellow Liberal Democrats, this kind of thinking is dangerous. A voluntary cap really does not add up. …

This universal approach to the cap would free up the private sector to do what it does best, to innovate and offer families affordable ways of financing their care costs up to the cap. The Government now has within its grasp a lasting reform of care in England.

As ministers grapple with these issues it is essential that all of us who believe our social care system is broken and unfair make our voice heard. Ending the scandal of people forced to sell their homes to pay for care would be a legacy for this Government felt for generations. It would set the seal on a long overdue, comprehensive and genuinely popular reform of care and support in this country.

You can read Paul Burstow’s article in full here.

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