Lib Dems’ free personal care pledge is ‘step in the right direction’, say disabled campaigners

Disabled people’s organisations have given a cautious but positive welcome to proposals from the Liberal Democrats to offer free personal care to all adults if they win power at the general election.

In a policy pledge unlikely to be matched either by the Conservatives or Labour, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said his party’s “groundbreaking” and “bold” £2.7 billion-a-year plans would be funded by reversing tax cuts given to the banking sector.

The party has also provided further details of its plans to Disability News Service (DNS).

Davey, who has a disabled son, said the policy would revolutionise the care system and reduce pressure on the NHS, by providing more care and support for disabled and older people in their own homes.

But the party confirmed to DNS that the pledge would only see an end to charges for personal care, and not for other support such as housework, shopping, laundry and engaging with the local community.

A party spokesperson said: “Given the crisis in social care, it’s impossible for us to achieve a perfect system immediately but we hope that these issues would be covered in cross-party talks that we are calling for with other parties.”

It also told DNS that the threshold for support would remain the same as at present, where care needs are seen as eligible for council-funded support if they have a significant impact on the individual’s wellbeing.

Asked if there would be any limits placed on the free personal care policy, the spokesperson suggested there could be.

She said its model was based on the free personal care model introduced in Scotland, which was first introduced by the Scottish government in 2002, when the Liberal Democrats were in coalition with Labour, although it was originally only available to older people.

It was extended to working-age adults in 2019 by the SNP government.

She said: “There are limits on what can be delivered in Scotland due to financial pressures; that’s why we urgently need cross-party talks to put social care on a sustainable financial footing.”

The party said an average of 12,772 hospital beds in England per day in April were occupied by people ready to be discharged but waiting for resources to provide care in their homes, or a care home bed.

The party also revealed that the Liberal Democrat election manifesto would have a separate chapter on care.

And the party plans to introduce a new minimum wage for care workers, set at £2 above the national minimum wage, while it will also create a Royal College of Care Workers, to run alongside the existing royal colleges for nursing and midwives.

The Liberal Democrat approach contrasts strongly with that of Labour and the Conservatives.

Last year, Labour was accused of caving in to “powerful vested interests” after failing to include any reference to scrapping care charges in documents that are set to form the basis of the party’s manifesto.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have failed to take action to deal with a charging crisis that has left tens of thousands of disabled people every year facing debt collection action by their local authorities over unpaid care charges.

Successive Conservative governments have repeatedly promised – and then failed – to solve the social care crisis.

Davey said: “As a carer for my disabled son, and after caring for my ill mother when I was young, care is deeply personal for me.

“That is why I am putting fixing the care crisis at the heart of the Liberal Democrat offer to the country at this election.

“Far too often, family carers are being left to pick up the pieces because the care system simply isn’t there for them.

“Millions of people are going without the care they need, while thousands are stuck in hospital beds instead of being cared for in their own home or a care home.

“We cannot fix the crisis facing the NHS without fixing the crisis facing social care.

“The Liberal Democrats would bring in free personal care to help people live independently and with dignity, in their own homes wherever possible.”

Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice for Inclusion London, said the announcement was “a step in the right direction”.

She said: “Social care has been absent from election debate and this announcement brings it back on the agenda.

“Social care is a vital service; when working well it enables disabled people of all ages to live a fulfilling life with choice and control.

“However, at the moment people are experiencing inadequate support and oppressive bureaucracy, and many, including those who are on benefits, are made to give up a significant proportion of their income to pay for this poor service.

“Making people pay for care is a tax on disability. We believe all social care, not only personal care, should be free.

“And this is not the only thing that needs fixing. The whole system needs a shakeup.

“We are calling on all parties to make social care free at the point of need and to work with us to implement our vision for a national independent living service, which will enable all disabled people to live an equal life.”

Disability Rights UK (DR UK) also welcomed the policy announcement as a step towards all social care being made free.

Mikey Erhardt, DR UK’s policy and campaigns officer, said: “This is the first policy we have heard from the major parties that validates what disabled people have been saying for decades: that social care should be free at the point of use and that reform should be funded from general taxation.

“We hope that this proposal drives other parties to come up with plans for reform, which puts the independence of disabled people at the centre and commits to major financial investment.

“Care and support should be about enabling us to live with choice and control over our lives, connecting us with the communities around us.

“It should not be a list of ‘care tasks’, which gives us the absolute minimum to survive.

“We need to hear strong statements that charging disabled people for social care will be relegated to the history books.”

The grassroots disabled people’s organisation Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL) also welcomed the Liberal Democrat announcement, but with reservations.

BRIL said it hoped the party’s move would increase pressure on the next government to “sort out the social care crisis”.

A BRIL spokesperson said that while free personal care in Scotland had helped some disabled people, research suggested (PDF) that there had also been confusion and disputes over defining what personal care was, along with other problems, such as further “fragmentation” of the social care system.

BRIL added: “Neurodivergent people and people who experience mental illness/distress often have social care needs that would not be paid for under the Lib Dems’ plans, and as a consequence would continue to face care charges, and the risk of debt.

“Charging for ‘some’ care and support is not only a scandal but creates a hierarchy of need which is contrary to the Care Act.”

BRIL said the Liberal Democrats appeared not to have consulted disabled people about the policy, which was “far from our vision of genuine independent living and rights-based support” and at best “a sticking-plaster on a system that needs radical change”.

Autistic Nottingham also welcomed the Liberal Democrat proposal, but again with reservations.

Justin Donne, the autistic-led charity’s chief executive, said: “When the Conservatives are focused on how to punish disabled people into work, and Labour still hasn’t discussed support for disabled people outside getting us into the workplace, Sir Ed Davey’s plan to fund care for disabled people with high support needs is a breath of fresh air.”

But he added: “Just like he fears for his son once he isn’t there to look after him, our service users are worried about their care being taken away due to national and local government cuts.

“We run a personal assistant service for autistic adults without intellectual disabilities which helps them in their daily lives such as going to the supermarket, cleaning their homes or cooking a meal – all of which greatly improve their quality of life.

“However, our service does not fall under care for disabled people with high needs that would be fully funded under his proposal, and disappointingly there is no mention of even partial funding for lower care needs.”

He said the proposal was “a good first step, but it doesn’t go far enough for our beneficiaries.

“I hope that one day we can have a government who is prepared to fund care for all levels of support needs, but currently that seems unlikely.”

Picture: Ed Davey being interviewed this week by Anushka Asthana, deputy editor of ITV News 

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