On 11 February 2013, the Government announced that they will be introducing changes to the way disabled adults will have to pay towards long-term care. This follows years of dither and delay by successive Governments. Years have passed without any serious attempt to confront the challenges posed by an ageing population and growing demand for council support.
A first step, but a long way to go
We welcome this first modest step towards solving the crisis in England's care system by having a £75,000 cap on the amount an individual will have to pay and increasing the threshold for means testing. RNIB recognises Ministers could have kicked this issue into the long grass.
However, our concerns about the discrepancies in eligibility criteria and the postcode lottery of care provision that this creates have not been addressed. And the cap is a red herring for most blind and partially sighted people as it is set at too high a price to make a meaningful difference to their lives.
Since 2005 the number of blind and partially sighted adults receiving social care services has dropped by 36 per cent, compared to an average 16 per cent drop for all adults.
The Dilnot Commission recommended a number of things; not just the introduction of a cap on individual care costs and raising the means testing threshold. Perhaps the biggest issue Dilnot addressed - which the Government hasn't - is the chronic under-funding that means the care available from councils is far outstripped by local demand.
A pressing need for clarity
Unfortunately we cannot see anything in the announcement that will really make a difference to the many thousands of blind and partially sighted people who need support from their councils today. Dealing with years of under-funding is the most pressing problem and until we have clarity that spending on social care will keep up with disabled and older people's needs, we won't see any significant improvements for blind and partially sighted people in the short or long term.
Further information
We're campaigning on the provision of social care for blind and partially sighted people. If you'd like to find out more or to get involved, please email campaigns@rnib.org.uk.