Experts have warned that the current government figures for free care fail to take into account either an increase in demand with time, or the effect of people who previously chose to pay for private care switching to free care because they now qualify for it (a situation described by the Guardian as ‘redistributing to the rich’).  Whilst challenging the Personal Care at Home bill in the House of Lords, former health minister Lord Warner warned that when Scotland began offering free personal care in 2003, the costs doubled within four years and the number of claimants went up by 36%.  Although the bill survived the challenge, more and more organisations are now backing the view originally put forward in the Green Paper that individuals must share the cost of care with government funding.

Other concerns around the Personal Care at Home bill centre around how it will be decided which people have ‘critical’ care needs and will therefore receive funding.  How will needs be assessed as ‘critical’ and what help will be available for those whose needs are severe, but not ‘critical’?  This is made more complex by the fact that currently, local authorities all interpret care needs differently.  Some authorities currently classify ‘critical’ care needs together with the lower category of ‘substantial’.  With councils also offering different care services at different prices, there is a risk that many people will miss out on funding due to a ‘postcode lottery’ – as was the case when continuing care eligibility criteria were first introduced in 1995.