Trailblazers announced for social care charging reform

The government has announced that five local authorities will implement a new and improved adult social care charging reform system which caps the cost of care.

The Health and Social Care Levy will raise more than £5.4 billion for adult social care reforms which includes including £3.6 billion to reform the way people pay for their social care charging reform to ensure the new system is fair and responsible, balancing government support and the need for people to be responsible for their future care needs.

The five trailblazing local authorities - Wolverhampton, Blackpool, Cheshire East, Newham, North Yorkshire - will put the charging reform plans in place in January 2023 ahead of a national rollout in October next year.

This includes a new lifetime cap of £86,000 on the amount anyone in England will need to spend on their personal care, alongside a more generous means test for local authority financial support.

The regions were selected to ensure a cross section of communities are represented and so any insight, evidence and lessons learned from this initiative will be useful to providers and authorities in all parts of England. The trailblazers will shape the government’s approach to implementation by allowing the Department of Health and Social Care to test key aspects of the reforms.