Stuart Anderson MP is delighted that Wolverhampton has been selected as one of five ‘Trailblazer’ local authorities to implement the new and improved adult social care charging reform system. The city is receiving half a million pounds to implement the reforms early. It will introduce a new lifetime cap on the amount anyone in England will need to spend on their personal care, alongside a more generous means test and moving towards a fairer rate of care. It means no one has to face unpredictable care costs.
The Health and Social Care Levy will raise more than £5.4 billion for adult social care reforms. In order to test key aspects of the reforms before national implementation, five ‘trailblazer’ local authorities have been selected to shape the Government’s approach - ensuring a cross section of communities are represented. This includes Wolverhampton, which will have access to government expertise and will specific support funding - with £435,160 already confirmed. Wolverhampton has also been allocated £97,403 to hire additional staff, prepare their workforce, and recruit dedicated IT staff to oversee the implementation of the care accounts. Further implementation funding will be confirmed for financial year 2023 to 2024. The Trailblazer testing period will run from April 2022 until October 2023.
The five local authorities are expected to introduce these reforms from January 2023 – subject to review checkpoints - nine months before other local authorities do in October 2023. The initiative will generate valuable evidence and insight to help the Government to monitor progress, identify challenges, and improve understanding of how the reforms will then work in practice.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “I am proud that Wolverhampton is at the forefront of implementing these reforms to adult social care, which will protect residents from unpredictable costs. The insights gained will generate valuable evidence to ensure adult social care is fair and accessible to all those who need it. The transformed social care charging system will oversee a significant increase in state support and complement wider social care reforms to better integrate health and care systems.”
