8 March 2022
If you are covering the social care cap amendment defeat in the House of Lords, please see the following comment from Shaun Moore, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter:
“Last night, members of the House of Lords defeated the government’s planned change to the cap on social care costs. Initially, the government sought to implement a cap on social care costs at £86,000, but it then announced in November 2021 that any care that has been funded through the means tested system will not count towards the cap, a big difference to the government’s previous proposals.
“Research from the IFS and the Health Foundation has shown that the change in policy would disproportionately affect those with more modest levels of assets and wealth, including those living in the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands.
“This change to the care cap had to be legislated for with an amendment to the Care Act 2014, which the government is doing through Clause 155 to the Health and Care Bill, which was defeated in the Lords last night.
“However, this rebellion will likely be short-lived. Once the Health and Care Bill goes back to the Commons, it is very likely MPs will seek to overturn this decision, though some MPs will put up a fight. There is a relatively large population of Conservative MPs against the cap on social care costs, which meant the vote only just went through in November 2021, so the government’s whipping operation will be in full force to get it through again.”
