Ros Altmann (former pensions minister) has highlighted the growing crisis in social care for the past ten year and called on the government to provide adequate funding to address this major failure in social policy.
Over the last ten years I have highlighted the increasing social care crisis. Along with many others, we are calling for government funding to fix the greatest social policy disaster of our time.
It is possible to believe that you would, among all people, welcome any effort to solve this terrible problem through an increase in national insurance.
However, you’d be wrong.
Although I commend the Government for taking action and not continuing to brush it under the rug, raising national insurance costs in the middle of the greatest cost-of-living crisis is obviously no sustainable solution.
Indeed, the timing of this could not be worse – and I wholly support the Daily Mail’s new campaign to spike the tax hike.
After a devastating pandemic, which hit both households and businesses, our energy and fuel bills are on the rise, as well as food and fuel costs.
It is too late to increase the financial hardship of already financially struggling families.
According to the proposal, those who have been struggling to pay their bills, will suddenly see their income shrink after April. While their living costs will increase.
This is hardly ‘levelling up’.
Those on the lowest income will be hardest hit because anyone with an income over £9,564 pays NI, while only those earning over £12,570 start paying tax. People who are able to afford large pensions, or that earn a lot of rent will be exempted from paying any extra.
Most families in the most dire need have suffered from economic hardships during lockdowns. To make them pay more national insurance, they will fall further into poverty.
But perhaps the worst part of it all is that even if we were prepared, as a society, to bear the pain of the imminent tax increase, it won’t actually alleviate the social care crisis anyway.
Because far from being ring-fenced for this ‘Cinderella’ section of the welfare state – underfunded, overworked and used as a back-stop by the NHS – the money raised from the so-called ‘health and social care levy’ will initially be used to help our National Health Service.
Over the next three years, £36billion from the 1.25 percentage point tax rise will go to tackling the NHS backlog – before the money will then shift to tackling social care.
But do we believe it?
Having studied and worked on social care reform for two decades, I know as well as any that if money is earmarked for the NHS, it won’t be seeing the light of day again.
After two years of a pandemic and a waiting list of 6million and counting, the bottomless pit of the NHS will doubtless suck up these extra resources – and, once again, force the Government to find even more funding to help fix social care.
Therefore, rather than rushing ahead with a tax rise that no one wants or can afford at the moment – and that won’t actually solve the crisis – the Government should wait till the worst of the cost of living crisis has settled.
After the social care system has been abandoned for so many years, is it still possible to continue with bad solutions and not the right time?
Things are going to get tight – and the Government needs to be radical.
My long-term view is that social care insurance levy would work better. This would allow everyone to contribute, regardless of income, and ensure that not only workers but also the rest of society pays.
Whatever the outcome, it is time to be courageous and press pause.
Since many years, we have heard that there will be a solution to the crisis in social care funding. However, increasing national insurance isn’t the right way to go and it is certainly not the time.
Baroness Altmann has been a champion for the elderly and better social care.