Hope springs eternal on care green paper

Carpe diem is care minister Phil Hope’s rallying cry in defending the social care green paper to Ian Macrae

From the outset it’s clear that Phil Hope and the Government are in full “stake-holder engagement” mode over their plans to reshape the social care system.

After running through the three models outlined in the recently published green paper – partnership, insurance, comprehensive – he says: “We want to hear what people’s views are about each of those models, each of which have got advantages and disadvantages.”

And for those who argue that the proposals don’t go as far as they might have by not offering a fully comprehensive system modelled on the NHS, he’s adamant that this represents a significant departure.

If, however, the green paper truly represents the completion of work begun by Beveridge and Bevan in the 1940s, would it be so dismissive of a universally funded system, universally available at point of need? Hope says logistics render that option unacceptable.

“What we’ve said we don’t think would be sustainable in the long term is where you raise general taxation to provide a free care service. That option isn’t available because of the ageing society. We’re moving from having four people of working age for every retired person, to two people of working age and the sums simply don’t add up. You’d be putting too much of a burden on a relatively smaller working age group to pay for a relatively larger older population.”

Which raises the concern of some disabled people of working age that the proposals are too concerned with meeting the needs of older people. Hope says that while the media’s focus has been on over 65s, the document itself addresses areas central to disabled people’s needs and demands, choice and control, independent living, personalisation of budgets and portability, the ability to move around with your care package.

“Anyone reading the document, as opposed to the media’s reporting of it, will see how we’ve drawn heavily on the experience of younger disabled people and put it right at the heart of what a new care system should be like.”

He refuses to rule out the possibility of Disability Living Allowance being subsumed into the overall care budget as some people fear it might be saying only that proposals have so far been modelled on doing this with attendance allowance.

He’s pricked by the suggestion that the green paper is wrongly timed; that this Government won’t last long enough to see it through.

“If it’s not the right time then give up! You’ve fought all these years and if you just say now ‘it’s bad timing’, that won’t do. I say to people, grasp the moment.”