Dilnot Commission

To protect people from extreme care costs we recommend capping the lifetime contribution to adult social care costs that any individual needs to make at between £25,000 and £50,000. We think that £35,000 is an appropriate and fair figure and have used this example throughout our report. Where an individual's care costs exceed the cap, they would be eligible for full support from the state. This change should bring greater peace of mind and reduce anxiety, for both individuals and carers.

In reforming the funding of social care, the Government should review the scope for improving the integration of adult social care with other services in the wider care and support system. In particular, we believe it is important that there is improved integration of health and social care in order to deliver better outcomes for individuals and value for money from the state.

Not everyone will be able to afford to make their personal contribution, and those currently just outside the eligibility for means-tested help are not adequately protected. To address this, means-tested support should continue for those of lower means, and the asset threshold for those in residential care beyond which no means-tested help is given should increase from £23,250 to £100,000.

People born with a care and support need or who develop one in early life cannot be expected to have planned in the same way as older people. Those who enter adulthood already having a care and support need should immediately be eligible for free state support to meet their care needs, rather than being subjected to a means test.

Universal disability benefits for people of all ages should continue as now. We recommend that the Government consider how better to align benefits with the reformed social care funding system and that Attendance Allowance should be re-branded to clarify its purpose.

People should contribute a standard amount to cover their general living costs, such as food and accommodation, in residential care. We believe a figure in the range of £7,000 to £10,000 a year is appropriate.

We recommend that eligibility criteria for service entitlement should be set on a standardised national basis to improve consistency and fairness across England, and that there should be portability of assessments. In the short term, we think it is reasonable for a minimum eligibility threshold to be set nationally at 'substantial' under the current system. The Government should also urgently develop a more objective eligibility and assessment framework.

To encourage people to plan ahead for their later life we recommend that the Government invest in an awareness campaign. This should inform people of the new system and the importance of planning ahead. This campaign could be linked into the wider work to encourage pension savings.

The Government should develop a major new information and advice strategy to help when care needs arise. It is critical that the public has access to better, easy-to-understand and reliable information and advice about services and funding sources. This strategy should be produced in partnership with charities, local government and the financial services sector. As proposed by the Law Commission, a statutory duty should be placed on local authorities to provide information, advice and assistance services in their areas. These should be available to all people, irrespective of how their care is funded or provided.

Carers should be supported by improved assessments which take place alongside the assessment of the person being cared for and which aim to ensure that the impact on the carer is manageable and sustainable. We support the proposals set out by the Law Commission to give carers new legal rights to services and improve carers' assessments. In implementing our recommendations on information and advice, the Government should ensure that carers have better information and advice about support and available services.