Once again, social care provision has been booted into the long grass.
In fact, it has rolled way past the long grassy verge, down a steep incline, and is now bobbing around in a mulch-filled storm drain somewhere.
Sir Andrew Dilnott would be turning in his grave, if he were dead.
He and his team spent months of consultation and research in 2010 and 2011 to come up with recommendations to fix the UK's growing problem of funding later-life care. But 13 years and several prime ministers later, there's still no action.
Anyone hoping that Labour would stand by some of its pre-election pledges to improve social care must be shaking their heads in disbelief. What had been described in early July as a "clear mandate" to reform long-term care services for the elderly and others needing lifelong care has been consigned to the "too expensive" pile.
Speaking to FT Adviser in early July, Claire Reed, head of individual annuities for Aviva, had welcomed the new government's "clear mandate" around social care reforms.
There's little hope these reforms - already chopped, changed, passed around and postponed since 2011 - will see the light of day for at least five years.
As reported, chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped the social care cap and curbed winter fuel payments, as well as announcing big cuts to hospital and road projects. The hard decision was part of plans to plug the £22bn hole in public spending that, she claimed in a July statement, was “covered up” by the Conservative government.
She justified the cuts by telling parliament: “If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it.”
Aegon's Steven Cameron put it succinctly in a recent CPD feature for FT Adviser: "Is the government really supporting an ageing population in a sustainable way by leaving individuals needing care with a potentially unlimited liability?"
As usual, those who can afford professional financial advice will be able to benefit from the long-term planning that will be put in place to help them shore up their savings against the potential cost of care.
Those who cannot afford advice are left to fend for themselves - and we know from Financial Conduct Authority studies that only 8 per cent to 11 per cent of the UK population takes professional financial advice.
That means millions of people are wading into their retirement years with not only inadequate workplace pension savings but also little to no provision for the cost of care. As a reminder to those who needed it, even with the proposed £86,000 cap (which you won't see this side of the Labour government), the cost of care is significant, as the box-out shows.
Scrapping the winter fuel allowance is a controversial move and it has grabbed the attention of every type of media: local, national and social. But not enough is being said about the disgraceful lack of care over care.
