By Simon Bottery, Director
of Policy and Communications
There is nice running joke in the first (and only watchable)
Pirates of the Caribbean film about the 'Pirates Code' - a set of
rules that governs behaviour between pirates. After scene upon
scene in which the 'Pirates Code' is evoked and adhered to, it is
then cast aside when the plot demands it, with the explanation from
Captain Barbossa (played by Geoffrey Rush) to our heroine (Keira
Knightley) that 'the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than
actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner.'
I was reminded of this at a meeting last week with Social Care
Minister Paul Burstow about the Dilnot Commission's proposals on
social care reform. 'What Andrew (Dilnot) has given us is more what
you'd call a design manual than a blueprint', said Burstow (for
full effect, you might try saying this with a full 'speak like a
pirate' accent).
On the one hand, this is quite encouraging for those of us
desperate for social care reform because it continues to suggest
that reform is still a live issue. There are many in the voluntary
sector and elsewhere who think it has already been tossed
overboard. On the other hand, it also suggests that key variables
in the proposal - the amount at which a cap is set, the threshold
used in a means test (£35,000 and £100,000 in the Dilnot proposals)
- are very much up for debate.
These are critical - reform with a threshold set at, say,
£50,000 will be a very different prospect from one with it set at
£100,000. Likewise with the cap - there are hints from the
Department of Health that they are seriously considering raising
this to £50,000. This is not necessarily a terrible thing - it is
just conceivable that a potential liability for £50,000 might be
enough to incentivise people to take out personal insurance,
whereas £35,000 might not - but we would need so see some evidence
and convincing modelling.
Burstow was also cagey about the prospect of all party talks on
social care reform, which have been marooned for some time. Again,
these are vital because any reform has to be supported by future
governments if people are to have the confidence in it that will
allow them to plan for their futures. Burstow said that the talks
had been stuck around 'process' but he was hopeful of progress.
This suggests an interesting few months ahead for Labour's
energetic new social care shadow Liz Kendall who, as I write this,
is getting hands on experience of social care by shadowing a home
care assistant for the day. Her tweet to describe weather condition
at 6.00a.m. - "It's cold and dark out here" - might just serve as a
metaphor for the difficult business of getting proper change to
social care.
Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Kendall.
Dilnot-o-meter verdict: Too close to call.
