Homeowners in Somerset hit more than 4 times harder than richest parts of the Country by Government’s botched social care plan –new analysis. As the scale of the hit working people face thanks to the government’s botched social care plan continues to emerge, new analysis reveals the extent to which the plan hammers ordinary families while leaving the assets of the wealthiest relatively untouched. In the richest part of the Country the proposed cap on care costs means homeowners in some of the richest parts of the Country face losing just 6.5% of their assets. Yet in Somerset, the average homeowner would lose more than 30%, forcing many to sell their homes and more to pay for care. This comes despite a guarantee in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto “that no one needing care has to sell their home to pay for it”. This follows analysis by the Resolution Foundation, who found that “the cap, which does not benefit households with less than £100,000 in capital, will be of relatively more help in the more affluent areas…it will offer most protection to those living in high wealth parts of England. This is not just because of the obvious reason that a cap set in cash terms offers far more protection to those with higher-value assets to lose.”
Cllr Leigh Redman, Leader of the Labour Group on Somerset County Council said, “Local people will be hit more than 4 times harder than the richest parts of the country by these plans. This is further proof that this government cares more about people in Kensington and Chelsea protecting their rich friends than they do about people here in Somerset. We were promised a proper plan to fix social care, and protection for our homes. Instead we’ve got a slap in the face and a giant tax bill to boot – and what’s more Ministers admit these plans won’t even fix the creaking system the Conservatives have neglected for more than a decade.”
Cllr Mick Lerry (Labour, Victoria) said: “The Government Social Care Plan will mean that there will be an increase in the Somerset County Council levy for Social Care in Somerset, when the Council tax is collected in 2022. The Conservative Government Plan has no understanding as to how much Local Authorities will need to make sure that the Care needs are met for people in Somerset. Funding for Social Care must be based on needs rather than on a funding formula, that does not meet the cost of Social Care”.
The impact varies across Somerset, with our Districts looking like this:- Mendip 4.56 times more than Kensington and Chelsea. Somerset West & Taunton 5.28 times more than Kensington and Chelsea. South Somerset 5.39 times more than Kensington and Chelsea. Sedgemoor 5.56 times more than Kensington and Chelsea.
Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Tory MPs are imposing on their hard-working constituents an unfair punishing tax rise which does not even fix social care, won’t prevent people selling their houses and risks care homes going bust. Social care is in desperate need, but the Prime Minister – along with every Conservative MP – was elected on a manifesto that promised to fix the system on a plan that had been developed and would mean no one would have to sell their home. On both, he broke his promise.”