The Care Bill

The Queen’s Speech marked the start of reform of long-term care. The legislation will remove very high cost levels, but there could still be a significant bill to meet so planning is necessary.

Last month’s Queen’s Speech was criticised in some quarters for a lack of legislation – there were only 20 Bills announced, two of which were in draft. However, two of the Bills that did appear will have major long-term implications for most people:

The Care Bill had been trailed for some time and has its roots in proposals put forward in a report issued in July 2011 by the Government-sponsored Commission on Funding of Care and Support (aka the Dilnot Report). While ultimately the Bill will be a welcome improvement on the current long-term care funding rules, it is not a panacea:

If you get the feeling that there remains a need to plan for the costs of long-term care, you are probably right. The legislation will eventually remove the extreme costs, but there could still be a six-figure bill for you to meet personally.