Disabled campaigners say they are “deeply concerned” about the government’s commitment to scrapping care charges, after a minister refused to confirm that Andy Burnham’s pledge of free personal care for older people would also apply to working-age disabled people.
There was alarm among disabled people’s organisations earlier this month after No 10 told Disability News Service that the prime minister’s announcement of free personal care, as part of a new National Care Service, would only apply to those over 65.
No 10 said that any changes aimed at fixing the care crisis and the charges faced by tens of thousands of working-age disabled people would only be announced after next year’s final report of Baroness Casey’s social care commission.
But now Alison McGovern, the care minister, has added to those concerns.
In response to a question from Liberal Democrat MP Ian Sollom on Thursday (15 October), she made it clear there was no guarantee that the free personal care offer would be extended to working-age disabled people.
Sollom had asked her to “confirm that free personal care will be included for working-age disabled adults”.
But McGovern told him: “Baroness Casey’s commission is working on recommendations for fixing social care for everyone who needs it, including working-age adults, but I would just acknowledge that some of the challenges are different, so we need to take that into account as we move forward to the future system.”
Jon Abrams, campaigns and justice coordinator for Inclusion London, said: “We are disappointed that the minister did not confirm that disabled people under 65 would receive free personal care.
“Referring to the Casey commission offers no assurance to those facing unaffordable charges now.”
He said Sollom’s question showed how the current social care system “penalises people and pushes them into poverty”.
He said: “Our upcoming report, Care Charging Unmasked, documents why this system needs to change.
“We urge the minister to meet with working-age disabled people and ensure that disabled people and our organisations are at the core of the Casey commission’s work.”
Baroness Casey has lost the confidence of many disabled people since making “uninformed” and “harmful” comments in two radio interviews in July that fuelled hostility towards working-age disabled people who receive benefits, while she has also been heavily criticised for failing to work closely with DPOs.
Linda Burnip, co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), said DPAC was “deeply concerned” by the minister’s comments.
She added: “We remain disappointed that it still appears working-age disabled people who need social care will continue to be ignored by the Casey commission, which we find unacceptable.”
Charli Anne Thompson, a member of the steering group of the Roadmap to Independent Living Coalition, said: “Alison McGovern failed to give a clear answer to a straightforward question about whether free personal care will include working-age disabled adults.
“Her comments leave open the possibility that different arrangements could apply depending on age, and we think that needs clarification from the government.
“There is no justification for excluding working-age disabled adults from free care and support.”
Members of the coalition have laid out a path they believe will achieve the right to independent living in England, as described in article 19 of the UN disability convention.
Thompson said: “The Roadmap to Independent Living Coalition welcomes Andy Burnham bringing social care into mainstream political debate, but reform must go much further than narrowly defined personal care.
“The Care Act 2014 already provides the foundation for a system centred on people’s wellbeing, independence and ability to live full lives.
“What is needed is the political commitment to realise that vision.
“We would welcome the opportunity to present our roadmap to Baroness Casey and government ministers, and contribute to developing a social care system that genuinely works for everyone.”
In his parliamentary question, Sollom also asked McGovern about the case of a disabled constituent, 22-year-old Maxwell McKnight, who had contacted him about the “savings trap” that prevented him saving for a deposit to buy his own home.
Under current rules, if a disabled person has total capital savings above the upper limit of £23,250 – which was last uprated in 2010-11 – they are charged the full cost of their social care.
McKnight graduated with a first-class degree and works full-time, travelling to his job in central London, but he also needs 24-7 support from his parents and care workers.
Sollom says research by the King’s Fund – published last month – shows that if the upper limit had been uprated in line with inflation, it would have reached more than £35,600 by 2026-27.
He told McGovern: “My constituent Maxwell has spinal muscular atrophy and needs a significant amount of personal care.
“He has just started a graduate job, but because of the frozen £23,250 capital limit, any savings he builds up go on care charges, so he cannot save a deposit for a home or for the safety net that his disability demands.”
He asked her to “unfreeze and raise the capital limit so that we are not placing a limit on his aspiration”.
McGovern said she would “happily look into it and formally reply to him and his constituent”.
Sollom wants health and social care secretary Yvette Cooper to meet him and McKnight, and the government to “urgently uprate the limit in line with inflation, and to look at possible savings exemptions for working-age disabled adults”.
Speaking before Sollom’s exchange with the minister, McKnight said: “The government wants more disabled people in employment, yet the very system that’s supposed to support us makes it almost impossible for those of us with complex needs to build financial security.
“I need 24-hour care regardless of whether I’m working, but the moment I start saving my earnings, I risk having to put that money towards my care.
“I don’t want special treatment. I want the same opportunities as my peers to save for a home, build a future and enjoy the rewards of working hard.”
Sollom told DNS this week: “I was disappointed that the minister couldn’t confirm that the government’s commitment to free personal care will include working-age disabled adults.
“But even if confirmation does come, in reality, free personal care is years away and disabled people shouldn’t be told to put their lives on hold while we wait.
“Ministers could unfreeze and raise the capital limit now without any new legislation. They should do so.”
Picture by Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street
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