Tories unveil "home protection scheme" for elderly
George Osborne announces Conservatives' new "home protection scheme"
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Saturday, 03, Oct 2009 12:26
By inthenews.co.uk staff.
The Conservative party has announced plans for a "home protection scheme" they hope will prevent retired people from being forced to fund their own care in old age.
The plan, which requires people to pay a one-off voluntary fee of £8,000 at age 65, would ensure all future care costs would be taken on by government.
Currently, residential costs for the elderly must be met by the individual if they own more than £23,000 in assets such as their home.
However, this has led to many older people being forced to sell off their properties to raise necessary capital.
Mr Osborne told the Daily Mail newspaper: "It's a complete injustice in our society that 45,000 elderly people every year, who have worked hard and saved hard, are forced to sell their home and there's no affordable insurance.
"It is grossly unfair to those who are neither the richest, who can afford that care, and the poorest who get their care paid for.
"So we are going to help those people who have done the right thing through their lives and enable them to keep their home and pass it on to their children.
"It shows you can use the power of the state without adding to people's taxes."
However, the plan has been dismissed by care services minister Phil Hope as "flawed" and "hasty".
He said: "£8,000 would not be enough to cover the cost of residential care. So where do they propose the rest of the money comes from?
"Few people choose to pay into voluntary schemes, and it's hard to see how it would prevent people from having to sell their homes.
"How many pensioners have £8,000 lying around? Or £16,000 if you're married?"
Other experts have also derided the scheme, saying an £8,000 lump sum payment per person would be insufficient to cover the overall costs of long-term care.