Part of Care Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee am 4:45 pm ar 16 Ionawr 2014.
Norman Lamb
The Minister of State, Department of Health
4:45,
16 Ionawr 2014
Yes, of course people will be told about the interest that is payable, and I am sure that it will be part of the provisions in the guidance on the model deferred schemes that the hon. Lady’s Amendment sought to achieve, but that amendment is not necessary, as I have tried to explain.
Amendment 106 would prohibit the use of any asset-based criteria for access to deferred payments. First, I will take a moment to refresh our memories about the Dilnot commission’s report. It recognised that people who can afford to contribute towards the cost of their care should do so. The commission’s recommendations sought to define a new partnership between the individual and the state and to focus the money available on those who need it most: those with the fewest assets or who face catastrophic care costs.
Amendment 106 would go against that principle. It would not target those people who most need support but instead ensure that anyone, even those with assets of great monetary value in addition to their main home, can have a deferred payment agreement. I simply disagree with that principle. I do not think that the public purse should be helping people who do not need financial support to pay their care fees. A person with a substantial sum in their bank account would not be
“unable to afford care charges without selling their home”.
Such a person would therefore not be the principal purpose of a deferred payment agreement, as set out by the commission. In effect, if the Shadow Minister presses the amendment, Labour would be advocating cheap, Government-subsidised loans for millionaires.
Liz Kendall indicated dissent.
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