In the last week I have had two clients who have, without prompting, identified the possibility of care costs in predicting their long-term financial needs, in a family mediation financial case. This is the first time in my experience any client has ever suggested (without me prompting) that they might consider planning for care, so something may be changing in terms of the public’s awareness.
This might have been sparked by the recent publicity concerning the Casey Commission, the government’s three-year enquiry into adult social care (its terms of reference were published on 2nd May) Although there have been numerous reports into the subject over the last three decades, and the Barent Councils ‘graph of doom’, predicting that all local authority spending would eventually be swallowed up adult social care (and children services) has been around since 2010, recent governments had neatly side stepped the issue. Apparently, it’s not been seen as a vote winner.
The delay in a decision certainly significantly impacts three groups. Firstly, those in care and their families, who are left in limbo over the funding for their care, unable to plan or make provision for their immediate and long-term future. As Simon Bottery (1) has said ‘Too many people go without care, receive care that is not good enough, or have to pay catastrophic costs to fund it.’ And that means disputes concerning care will continue to increase.
Secondly, the care industry, the providers of services and the financial sector, who have no impetus to develop new and innovative products or service, whilst the Commission revisits the past. Thirdly, the UK’s population. The delay further undermines our confidence in the political system and the people we elect to make decisions on our behalf. Its parliament’s role to make difficult choices on complex and urgent issues, not for the government to spend its time building a case to win an argument when controversial decisions have to be defended (Rory Sutherland (2)).
That’s why my client’s awareness of social care is so important, if it signals an increasing growing rise in public concern. It would be all to easy for the government, coming to the end of its term of office in 2029, to claim that there’s not enough time to bring about radical and long-lasting change. But not if reform remains high on the list of the electorate’s priorities.
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