Key headlines from today’s government statement on Health and Social Care

At 12.30 today (7 September 2021) the prime minister delivered the long-awaited statement on the funding of health and social care. 

The statement has received much press over the past few days, largely focused on the tax implications, but a clear plan for health and social care funding (in particular for social care) has been promised for some years now. 

The key takeaways are below - and the vote on these proposals is expected by the end of the week. The statement was light on detail, which will follow in due course.

• Cap on personal care: An individual will not be required to pay for more than £86,000 of their personal care. 
• Means-tested support: Those with assets of between £20k - £100k will be eligible for means-tested support for their social care needs.
• Additional support: Those with assets of less than £20k will be eligible for full support, up from £14k. 
• Levy: These proposals will be funded by a new health and social care levy of 1.25%, raising an estimated £36bn.
• NHS focus and integration with social care: The statement emphasised the work that the NHS and its staff has carried throughout the pandemic, with an acknowledgement that funding will be available to support NHS wage increases, and to invest in new technology and equipment to improve the quality of care. The surge in waiting lists was highlighted as one issue that has been excerbated by the pandemic, but cannot realistically be solved without addressing the under supply of quality social care provision, which can cause severe bed-blocking (estimated at 30,000 patients during the pandemic in hospitals that should ideally have been cared for in a community setting). The PM suggested that funding will be available to improve the quality of social care provision, to encourage uptake. 
• White Paper: The PM confirmed that a White Paper on health and social care integration will be published in the coming months. 

The detail that supports the statement will be key (update: which were published at 1pm, see link below). Whilst much of the press coverage of the statement will inevitably (and already is) focused on the mechanics and justification for the 1.25% levy, detail is needed on the precise plans for how the additional funding will be used in practice. There was no reference in the statement itself to the apportionment of funding and its allocation between health and social care, and the respective areas requiring investment in each of those. We will be keeping a close eye on the reforms as they take shape and will report further on the details in the paper. 

If you have any questions about this, or any other health and social care matters, please contact Patrick Parkin (patrick.parkin@burges-salmon.com), Paul Doherty (paul.doherty@burges-salmon.com), Jonathan Eves (jonathan.eves@burges-salmon.com) or Ceri.Barrett@burges-salmon.com, or your usual contacts.