Andrea Rozario, Director General of SHIP comments on the Dilnot Commission’s recommendations:

“The Dilnot Report is absolutely right: with our growing and ageing population the State is not able to pay for everything, and there is an urgent need to establish a new and more equitable system if we are to stave off the looming crisis.   For this reason, the Government cannot afford to ignore or put aside the messages of this report, as those in previous reviews have been.

“We welcome the Commission’s findings and agree that a balance needs to be found on the sharing of responsibility for funding social care which allows people to contribute without penalising them for saving. The Report’s recommendation that care cost should never exceed 30% of a person’s assets achieves this balance. But the Government needs to ensure that people are fully aware of what their options are and that they do not have to leave their homes to contribute to their care funding.  Indeed, the Report highlights the importance of increasing awareness about saving for retirement and care early on so that people are as prepared as they can possibly be for it.  

“Financial service options such as equity release therefore have a strong role to play in helping people to contribute to their care costs. This will require a collaborative effort to achieve this awareness and SHIP is keen to work with the Government and other stakeholders to achieve this.  The establishment of a Working Group, as the Report suggests, to look into the development of financial products that will help people to meet the cost of care is to be welcomed and I hope that SHIP will have the opportunity to play a part in this.” Lord David Lipsey also comments:

“I strongly support the sweep of Dilnot’s proposals, which provide a basis for two essentials: a cross-party consensus solution and a partnership between the state and the individual in paying for care. I should prefer a rather larger share to fall on individuals and rather less on the state than he proposes, so as to free more money for better care services for the elderly.

“This will mean making full use of equity release so people can afford to pay their share. The precise numbers can be readily settled by further discussions. What is vital is that this, the last, best opportunity for a fair settlement to this toxic problem, should not be missed.”