Majority 'back extra tax for elderly care'
Monday, 03 Sep 2007 08:19
£2 billion could reportedly be raised by adding 1p to income tax rates
Three-quarters of Britons would be willing to pay 1p extra on their income tax if it went towards better and fairer care for older people.
The claim is made by a YouGov poll that suggests £2 billion could be raised by the extra income tax – enough to pay for 80 per cent of all care home fees and other domiciliary care costs.
Released at the beginning of 'ElderCare week' from charity Counsel and Care, which co-commissioned today's research, the survey states that people aged over 55 are the most supportive of the plan.
"This YouGov survey supports our view that urgent action needs to be taken on the funding of long-term care, and that the public is willing to participate. Clearly the public want better care for our ageing population," Counsel and Care chief executive Stephen Burke stated.
"If we can develop a co-payment option that is a true partnership between the state, the family and the individual, we can move towards a fairer system of paying for care in the future. That is the challenge for the government in its spending review this autumn and beyond.
"Counsel and Care is delighted to contribute to better support for families and carers with the publication of caring for loved ones in old age. We expect that it will become a key resource for all those facing the prospect of supporting older people but with very little idea of where to begin finding that support."
Other results of the research, conducted in August via questioning of 2,012 adults, include two-thirds of respondents claiming care for older people should be government funded, while 42 per cent said care services were worse compared to five years ago.