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Tories proposal stealth means test older people
October 10, 2002 12:00 AM
Commenting on the Conference speech of the Conservative Leader Ian Duncan Smith MP, and his focus on selling peoples' homes to pay for care, Paul Burstow MP, the Liberal Democrats Spokesman for Older People said:
"Conservative Ministers drove through a massive extension of means testing for basic care, which stripped hundreds of thousands of people of their homes and life savings.
"Now the Conservatives say people should insure themselves for health and long term care. Spending taxpayers money on tax breaks for those who can afford to insure themselves is a policy that helps the few at the expense of the many. It is simply stealth means testing.
"People deserve dignity not discrimination in old age. It is time the whole of the UK followed the lead given by Liberal Democrats in Government in Scotland and ended the scandal of means testing for basic care."
ENDS
Notes to editors
• In his speech Ian Duncan Smith referred people forced to sell their homes every year to pay for their care. However, the Conservatives introduced the policy of means testing for long term care and the figure used by the Conservatives of 40,000 comes from research published in 1995 by Prof Chris Hamnett of the University of London.
• Paul Burstow undertook research last year that found 70,000 people are now being forced each year to sell their homes to pay for care.
• Tony Blair declared at the Labour conference before the 1997 general election: "I don't want to live in a country where the only way pensioners can get long term care is by selling their home."
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