What does Boris Johnson’s social care plans mean for you
The prime minister has announced controversial reforms to England's social care system which will mean a national insurance rise across the UK. Boris Johnson has announced tax hikes for millions of people to fund social care and the NHS – and the move has not proved popular. The prime minister announced the national insurance rise in parliament on Tuesday, but Labour leader Keir Starmer has ruled out backing the hike, and so too have members of the prime minister’s own party. Here’s everything we know so far. So, what’s happening? Boris Johnson announced an overhaul of the social care system in England to MPs on Tuesday. It follows the £5.4bn cash injection announced on Monday to tackle the NHS backlogs caused by Covid, which will be spread out over the next six months. The PM wants to raise £36bn through increased national insurance contributions, rising by 1.25 percentage points as a health and social care levy. It’s a decision that goes against his manifesto “guarantee” and has angered members of his own party. 6
Meetings to discuss the plans apparently took place between the PM, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid over the weekend, and Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday morning that the Cabinet had approved the proposals. The proposals, to take effect in April 2022, will include a cap of around £86,000 on how much a person will pay, but might not include accommodation costs for those in residential care homes. Johnson also announced that people with assets worth less than £20,000 will not have to pay for their social care, while those with assets worth between £20,000 and £100,000 could qualify for some means-tested financial support. Cash raised will be focused on the NHS, the prime minister said, but highlighted the need to integrate health care and social care. “You can’t fix the Covid backlogs without giving the NHS the money it needs, and you can’t fix the NHS without fixing social care,” he said. “You can’t fix social care without removing the fear of losing everything to pay for social care, and you can’t fix health and social care without long-term reform.”
