Fighting the Dementia Tax

There has been no "U-turn" by Theresa May over the so-called "Dementia Tax"

The Conservative plans mean:

• If you need long-term care in your old age due to dementia or other conditions, your house will be counted towards the cost of this care - even if that care is in your own home
• The Conservatives won't say what the total cost of care will be capped at - they want voters to write them a blank cheque that they will fill in after the polls close!

If we guess at a cap of £200,000 (and it is a guess as the Conservatives won't tell us before the election) , someone receiving ten years of care living in an average-priced home in England would face a bill of £173,000 under the dementia tax.

Elderly and vulnerable people face losing over half the value of their home to fund this ill-conceived policy, with nine out of ten homes potentially at risk.

This is like a new type of inheritance tax - but one that's targeted at people of modest means, not the wealthy. The Conservatives want to tax ordinary hardworking people out of their savings and homes if their relative is unfortunate enough to need years of care.

FAIR FUNDING OF THE NHS AND SOCIAL CARE

The NHS is creaking under increasing demand by an ageing population and under funding by the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats would:

• Save the NHS by putting a penny in the pound on income tax to give the NHS and social care services the cash they need.

• Make waiting times for mental health care match those for physical health care.

• Limit the amount elderly people have to pay for social care.

Full details of our health plans are here