Sharing the responsibility
The way that we fund the care system needs to change. Care costs are going to increase, because more of us are living longer, and our expectations of the care services we receive are getting higher. Today, we, our families and wider society – through the Government – share the responsibility for paying for care. In the future, we will need new, and additional, ways of funding care.
This is your chance to have your say about how we should share the responsibility for meeting these increasing care costs. Before you tell us what you think, you might want to look at how care and support are provided in other countries.
Who should contribute more for care in the future?
- Individuals who use care and support services;
- Families of people who use care and support services; or
- Everyone in society.
Individuals
In the future, if you need care, should you be expected to pay for it yourself? How could we all prepare for these costs? What role should the Government have in helping people to prepare for these costs?
Families
At the moment, families often contribute to the cost of extra services and facilities by paying third party top-ups for relatives who are in care homes. Family members also form the largest proportion of the 340,000 unpaid carers in Wales.
In the future, if you need care, should your family be expected to look after you or pay for your care? How can everyone prepare to meet such costs?
How much care should families be expected to give? How can the Government best support them?
Everyone in society
At the moment, the Government spends £1.3 billion on social care for people in Wales. In the future, a lower proportion of people will be of working age (and able to pay income tax) compared to the proportion of people who will need care services.
In the future, if you need care, should society be expected to pay for it? How would this responsibility be shared across everyone in society?
- Would everyone have to contribute more?
- Would older people be exempt from contributing?
- Would younger people be exempt from contributing?
- What about people who don’t or cannot work?
- What about people who don’t own their own home?
- What about your employer’s role?
- What about the role of voluntary organisations?
