JRF newsletter - January 2008

JRF newsletter - January 2008

* Caring Choices - final report published

The UK needs a new system to pay for long-term care for older people, which combines an entitlement to support with a sharing of costs between individuals and the state. This is the conclusion of The Future of Care Funding: Time for a change (PDF, 929KB), following the 'Caring Choices' consultation with over 700 users, carers, providers and researchers with experience of the long-term care system.

Caring Choices - a coalition of 15 organisations - encouraged and facilitated debate across England and Scotland through a series of events and a website. Five areas of broad agreement emerged:

People receiving and providing care thought the current system is unclear, unfair and unfit for purpose. In particular they disliked the 'postcode lottery' giving different entitlements to people in different areas, and the high degree of means-testing that seems to penalise people who have made provision for their old age.
More money will be required to meet growing need. Between 2002 and 2026, the number of older people requiring care is likely to rise by 50 per cent, and costs per head will also rise. Unless the Government increases its own contribution, the extra costs will fall on care users. Already today, some local authorities focus only on those with the most critical conditions.
There should be a universal element of long-term care funding. 9 out of 10 participants supported a system where everyone gets some contribution from the state. Many participants argued for a baseline entitlement available to everyone with care needs, regardless of their income and wealth.
Funding of long-term care should be shared between the state and individuals. Only 1 out of 5 participants believed that personal care should be funded 100% by the state. Most favoured a system of 'co-payments' whereby a care package is paid for mainly by the state but with a fixed percentage contribution from the user.
Better support for unpaid carers is crucial. There was strong resentment about the lack of support for unpaid family carers. Carers and care users emphasised that any effective settlement for long-term care funding needs to involve more generous funding of items such as respite care and Carer’s Allowance.
Other areas of debate were more contested and generated different views on the best options. These included:

how far state support should be limited to 'personal' care (help with bathing, eating, etc) as opposed to wider social care, or measures that could prevent or slow down dependency;
the role of benefits such as Attendance Allowance;
how far Government should provide help to individuals to enable them to pay their share of care costs, through schemes such as long-term care insurance and equity release.
To view the report, read more about the Caring Choices initiative, or contribute your own thoughts please visit the website:

http://www.caringchoices.org.uk


* Care in the UK

BBC Radio 4's 'You and Yours' is running a month long series on Care in the UK. JRF director, Julia Unwin, is a guest on the show on Tuesday 15 January and Thursday 31 January.

* JRF's strategic plan for 2008

Alongside our key concerns of poverty, place and empowerment, four themes will shape everything we do in 2008:

understanding and supporting the growing ethnic, racial and religious diversity of communities across the UK;
meeting the challenge of environmental sustainability;
supporting the development of a healthy, innovative and genuinely independent voluntary sector;
understanding the different approaches to policy and practice in each of the four countries of the UK.
In addition, we will continue with our exploration of the nature of social evil in the 21st century. Our April report will give a detailed breakdown of the concerns raised by the respondents to our survey.

More details: JRF website / Strategic plan 2008 (PDF, 128KB)

* Other news and latest research

People of South Wales asked to share their rural housing concerns with independent Commission
Drinking places: where people drink and why
Cannabis supply and young people
How local planning authorities are delivering policies for affordable housing
Combating child poverty in Wales: are effective education strategies in place?
Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Ipsos-MORI Hothouse win award for poverty research
Julia Unwin appointed to Council on Social Action
* Forthcoming publications (January):

'Is poverty in the UK a denial of people's human rights?' (17 January)
'Developing active networks in local communities' (28 January)
'An evaluation of Local Links: Reviewing a pilot programme to develop active networks in local communities' (28 January)
'Supplying cannabis to young people' (full report on 30 January, Findings summary already published)
Please note: publication dates are subject to change.