The architect of the Government’s social care reforms has criticised ministers’ “disappointing” new plans, accusing them of targeting poorer people and those in the North of England. 

Sir Andrew Dilnot, an economist who devised reforms to prevent people losing homes to soaring care costs, criticised the lack of funding of the sector, saying its share of public money has been “crazily low”. 

In September, the Prime Minister unveiled a controversial National Insurance tax hike to fund the embattled care sector, as well as a lifetime cap on social care costs of £86,000 per person, after which the state will step in.

However, under changes to the social care plans revealed on Wednesday, it has emerged that means-tested support will not count towards the lifetime cap.

It had originally been assumed that the cap would factor in state support and people’s individual contributions, ensuring that poorer pensioners would keep more of their assets. However, the change means that they will now have to deplete more of their own assets.

‘Less well off will not gain any benefit from the cap’

Responding to the altered plans, Sir Andrew told the Treasury select committee that the new plan “finds savings exclusively from the less well off group”.

He added that “For those who have long care journeys, it means that the less well off will not gain any benefit from the cap.

“On the whole, this will tend to hit less well-off people obviously harder. 

“It will tend to hit people in regions of the country with lower house prices harder than it does those in regions with higher house prices, so there is a sort of North-South axis to this that people living in Northern and other less high house price areas are likely to be hit harder by this on average.”

Sir Andrew also told MPs that the change meant that about 60 per cent of older people who end up needing social care would lose out, compared with the plan he proposed.

He said: “The people who are most harshly affected by this change are people with assets of exactly £106,000. 

“But everybody with assets of less than £186,000 would do less well under what the Government is proposing than the proposals that we made and the proposals that were legislated for.”

Describing it as a “big change”, he said: “It finds savings exclusively from the less well-off group.”

Prime Minister rejects criticism

Boris Johnson dismissed the criticism from Sir Andrew, who made social care reform proposals in 2011 and 2015 that the Government has since largely adopted and who originally recommended a social care cap.

Asked during a visit to a Network Rail logistics hub near Selby, North Yorkshire, whether his plans would disadvantage those in the north of England, the Prime Minister told reporters: “No. 

“This is a massive improvement for everybody in the whole country because what we’re saying is for the first time in history we’re stopping people having to pay unlimited quantities for their care.

“We’re restricting the amount you can possibly pay to a fixed limit and the state comes in and helps you, the state comes in and helps you as soon as you have assets of £100,000 or less. And that’s never been done before.”