Social care

Plans for a Scottish ‘National Care Service’ would centralise over £4 billion of spending and may not lead to more consistent services.

In September, the government announced that it was introducing a cap on the lifetime social care costs faced by individuals. At the event a joint IFS-Health Foundation report was presented that looks at the implications of this change.

This briefing note considers the effects of the government’s proposed amendment to the Care Act, which would mean that means-tested support does not count for an individual’s progress towards the social care cost cap.

The IFS Green Budget looks at the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Chancellor aims to secure a lasting recovery and deliver on the Government’s other objectives and priorities.

Our social care system is the unfinished business of 1946 and the direct descendant of the poor law of 1834; the decision to fund it through a levy is a throwback to a time when we had a social insurance system. And that’s the trouble. If you want a rational system for tax, welfare and public spending, best not to start from here.

IFS immediate reaction to the Prime Minister's announcement about social care.

We find that reductions in social care spending led to substantial increases in use of Accident & Emergency (A&E) departments by individuals aged 65 and above. The impacts were most pronounced among the very oldest (those aged 85 and above) and those living in more deprived neighbourhoods.