The government has published its proposals for the future of adult care in England. Not surprisingly, a great deal of attention has been paid to the cost of those proposals, and to who should meet it. There are, however, other questions that are just as important.
The government says the system for adult care should be fair, simple and affordable, and that it will therefore need to be underpinned by national rights and entitlements. Nowhere, however, does it say what those rights will be or even what they might look like.
There is no doubt that even now, the legal framework for adult care is old-fashioned, forbiddingly complex and in need of review: the Law Commission has just said so and change now seems highly likely. The new care proposals will only compound the problem.
It seems that under what the government has dubbed the National Care Service (NCS):
* There will be a fully joined-up service between the NCS and the NHS.
* There will also be a single, national assessment process, with people who have gained entitlements in one area being able to transfer them to another.
* The state will meet a fixed proportion of each person’s care costs and any additional costs will be met by social or private insurance.
* An independent body will be created, to advise on quality and best value in adult care services.
* People will be able to continue living in their own homes, if that is what they want.
It remains to be seen whether these aspirations are widely shared, but if they are to be achieved, it will surely only be through legislation.
The shape of any new legislation will be crucial and will have to be debated very thoroughly. It would be unfortunate, however, if the messages from that debate were drowned out by arguments about pounds, shillings and pence.
The government's proposals are contained in a green paper, which is available here.
