Botched care plans could add £26 to council tax bills across Worcestershire
15th February 2010
Gordon Brown to make local taxpayers pay the price for personal care changes.
Harriett Baldwin, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for West Worcestershire warned of a Government plan to leave Worcestershire County Council with a massive bill to pay for new social care plans. Analysis has revealed that Gordon Brown’s unfunded plans for free personal care at home could put £26 a year on the average council tax bill, on top of other local pressures. This is due to an estimated £580 million black hole left by the government.
- Senior councillors have warned that Gordon Brown’s plans “are unclear, unfunded and are likely to have a significant impact on existing local services, including possible cuts and rises in council tax”.
- Town hall experts at the Local Government Association have added that “this is clearly a new burden” on councils, while Social Services directors from across the country have asserted that Gordon Brown has “significantly underestimated the true costs involved.”
- On top of the council tax hike, there is also the threat of an additional £20,000 “death tax” by Gordon Brown to pay for new National Care Service proposals.
Harriett Baldwin said:
“I frequently meet people who worry about having to sell their homes to pay for long term care. That is why Conservatives will introduce a voluntary Home Protection Scheme to allow people – for a one off £8,000 payment – to make sure they never have to sell their home to pay for residential care.
“But Labour’s plans to extend free personal care and to introduce a National Care Service are in chaos. Labour ministers in Whitehall are considering levying a compulsory death tax of up to £20,000 on every person in England, and now it looks like they’ll put another £26 a year on Worcestershire’s council tax. Gordon Brown needs to come clean about who will pay the price for his plans.”
