Natasha Curry responds to Centre for Policy Studies report ‘Fixing the Care Crisis’ by Damian Green MP

The system the paper proposes is encouraging, but funding provision outlined falls far short of what is needed to keep current system afloat.

Press release

Published: 29/04/2019

Responding to the Centre for Policy Studies report ‘Fixing the Care Crisis’ by Damian Green MP, Natasha Curry, Deputy Director of Policy at the Nuffield Trust, said:

“This paper takes on the right question in trying to address a social care system that is failing vulnerable people. But it doesn’t fully answer it. The system it proposes does move to a national solution on funding and help that is given out based on need, not means. These are exactly the kind of changes we have been calling for [1] and that have been put off for far too long, most recently with the delayed Green Paper.

“However, the funding provisions here would only bring in an estimated £2.75bn, which falls far short of what would be needed even to keep the current inadequate system going. It is difficult to see how this could guarantee a care offer for all that is of a decent standard. That would leave people relying on the proposal for private top ups. As well as being potentially unfair, we have never seen a private insurance market for social care really materialise, despite policymakers trying to encourage one on several occasions. It’s not clear that the mechanisms here to make it easier to pay would really make a difference this time.”

Notes to editors

  1. Last month, we published four key tests for good a social care system, and also key tests for social care funding reform with a summary of how different proposals match up to what is required.

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