Tories reckon care plans are in chaos

Reporter: Janice Barker
Date online: 22 February 2010

Claims of £26 on council tax

Conservatives say making local taxpayers fund personal care for the elderly could add £26 to council tax bills across Oldham.

Oldham East and Saddleworth Parliamentary spokesman Kashif Ali says the Government’s plan will leave Oldham Council with a massive bill to pay for new social care plans.

He said senior councillors in Oldham have warned that Gordon Brown’s plans are unclear, not funded and are likely to have a significant impact on existing local services, including possible cuts, and rises in council tax.

And experts at the Local Government Association have added that this is a new burden on councils, while Social Services directors from across the country have asserted that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has significantly underestimated the true costs involved.

He added: “There is also the threat of an additional £20,000 ‘death tax’ by Gordon Brown to pay for new National Care Service proposals.

“Everybody wants to give people more support in their old age, especially the most vulnerable. That is why Conservatives will introduce a voluntary Home Protection Scheme to allow people – for a one-off £8,000 payment – to make sure they never have to sell their home to pay for residential care.

“But Labour’s plans to extend free personal care and to introduce a National Care Service are in chaos.

“Labour ministers in Whitehall are considering levying a compulsory death tax of up to £20,000 on every person in England, and now it looks like they’ll put another £26 a year on Oldham’s council tax.

“Gordon Brown needs to come clean about who will pay the price for his plans.”