Mark Isherwood
North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has asked the Finance Minister what discussions she has had with the UK Treasury regarding payment for social care.
At present, people with assets of more than £23,250 pay for care in England and Wales, which can force older people to sell their homes to fund their care needs.
The UK Government announced in February that it would increase the means-tested threshold to £123,000 for people in England and cap the amount people spend on care during their lifetimes to £75,000, but the Welsh Government is yet to announce its proposals for people in Wales.
Speaking in the Assembly Chamber he said: “What discussions have you had with the UK Treasury regarding payment for social care, reflecting the written statement from the Deputy Minister for Social Services in January?
Referring to UK Government reforms in terms of how people in England will pay for their care and support from April 2016, she said that, until she had detail of the reform to be introduced in England, its funding implications and its impact on the Barnett formula (*), she would be unable to make final decisions on the exact nature of reforms that she would introduce in Wales.”
The Minister, Jane Hutt AM, told Mr Isherwood “I stand in support of the Deputy Minister for Social Services, in progressing her negotiations and discussions with the UK Government, in terms of payment for social care and the implications that that might have for developing our draft budget.”
