Care in Old Age - Royal Commission Report

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Care in old age - Royal Commission Report

The Labour government took matters a stage further by setting up a Royal Commission to examine this whole area. The Royal Commission reported in March 1999.

Its main proposals were:

• The cost of long-term care should be split into three elements: living costs, housing costs and personal care.
  
  
• Personal care should be available after an assessment according to need and paid for by the state.
  
  
• Living and housing costs should be the responsibility of individuals with the state stepping in to help where the individual's means are limited.
  
  
• The government should establish a National Care Commission to set standards and oversee the provision of care.
  
  
• More services should be offered to people who are informal carers the value of someone's home should be disregarded for up to three months if they move into a residential or nursing home. This breathing space would allow the opportunity for rehabilitation and a return home, if appropriate.
  
  

The government has been slow to respond to the Royal Commission's recommendations. However, several initiatives are under way. For example, the government is setting up eight regional Commissions for Care Standards (though not a centralised National Care Commission). Every local authority is required to draw up a charter for long-term care by June 2000, which will set out how the authority helps users and carers to find out about services, how it helps people to stay independent, its support for carers, and so on. The government is also consulting on changes to the regulations on how charges for residential or nursing home accommodation are met.

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