Care leaders warn social care is ‘more than discharge arm of NHS’ as Hunt delays cap

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said in his Autumn Statement speech that there were “very difficult times ahead” for people and said he must delay a cap on social care costs by two years but angry care leaders are warning that care is “much more than the discharge arm of the NHS”.

From October 2023, the government had planned to introduce a new £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England has to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, but the policy is now being pushed back to 2025.

Jeremy Hunt to use social care to ‘free up 13,500 hospital beds’

Mr Hunt said he’d “listened to extensive representations about the challenges facing the social care sector.“

“I also heard very real concerns from local authorities particularly about their ability to deliver the Dilnot reforms immediately. So I will delay the implementation of this important reform for two years, allocating the funding to allow local authorities to provide more care packages.”

To get the social care system to help free up 13,500 hospital beds “occupied by those who should be at home”, Mr Hunt announced additional grant funding for adult social care of £1 billion next year and £1.7 billion the year after.