Funding of long-term care is set for debate

Work on the government's long-running Supported Living and Ageing Well Strategy is nearing the completion of a report for a States debate in the first half of the year.

There is already concern that this will reignite impassioned debate about the prospect of equity in family homes being used to pay for residential or nursing care.

Such a proposal to take up to 10% of the value of a home was rejected by the States in 2020.

‘It’s going to mean a discussion with our community on a sensitive subject with complex financial implications, and we all know those are not easy.

‘But I would ask members to respect the fact we have not made any final decision on recommendations, so it does not help to alarm the community before any recommendations have been finalised,’ said Employment & Social Security president Peter Roffey, whose committee is leading the proposals.

‘When we do make those recommendations, States members and members of our community should voice their views, and use their votes as they feel is right, but they must also recognise that providing more care to more people in the way they would want it, comes at a cost.

‘We cannot, once again, say “yes, we want the services” but “no, we won’t pay for them”.’

Deputy Roffey described the Slaws work as one of the biggest and most controversial pieces of work that his committee was involved in.

The report is being prepared together with the Policy & Resources and Health & Social Care committees.

States members were briefed in the summer and autumn and public engagement is planned over the next few months.

Islanders have already been consulted across four focus groups, two involving people with ‘lived experience’ of receiving or seeking care themselves or for a loved one, or being a carer.

Fuller public engagement is expected to start soon.

Among the big issues to be considered are options for the future model of community long-term care, the longevity of the long-term care insurance scheme, whether that scheme should be extended to cover homecare, and the introduction of a new ‘complex care’ rate of benefit.

Deputy Roffey said that no final policy decisions had yet been taken.

Deputy Neil Inder raised in the States last month whether ESS was ‘fully behind’ the principle of deferred payments on the homes of ‘hard-working Guernsey people’.

Deputy Roffey said that proposals to return to the States would not be trammelled by previous considerations.

‘We are starting to look again from scratch,’ he said.

‘All assets are going to be treated equally, with no obsession over family homes as opposed to other assets. But what I would say we either don’t extend the scheme to cover care at home, or if we do it has to be paid for somehow.

‘There are a range of ways this can be paid for and none of them will be particularly popular.’