In response to the House of Lords vote to reject the government’s amendment to the Care Act, Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and the REAL Centre at the Health Foundation, said:

‘Members of the House of Lords have taken the right decision on social care reform by rejecting the government’s proposed changes to the Care Act. The government’s amendment is a step in the wrong direction. It has substantial real-world consequences for those with lower assets, in effect increasing the time it could take for them to reach the £86,000 cap on care costs.

‘When MPs originally voted in support of the government’s amendment they were effectively voting in the dark. Research from the IFS and the Health Foundation has since shown that the change would leave more people worse off compared to the original reform proposals. Among older people, those most affected are those with modest assets and wealth, and by region, those living the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the Midlands. It will also disproportionately affect working age adults with disabilities.

‘Now that MPs have more information about the consequences of this change we urge them to follow in the footsteps of the Lords and reverse what would be a regressive change and one that is opposite to levelling up.’