Theresa May to unveil radical plan to take money off rich pensioners to look after poorer OAPs in a social care revolution

THERESA MAY will today unveil radical plans to take money off rich pensioners to pay for the care of poorer OAPs in a social revolution.

Launching her Election manifesto, the Prime Minister will vow a complete transformation of the way Britain funds care for the elderly.

Instead of a lifetime cap on care costs, the Conservatives will propose a floor that protects the final £100,000 of an elderly individual’s wealth.

And critically, Theresa May will vow that no one will be forced to sell their home to be looked after in older age.

It means that rich OAPs with £300,000 of assets would have to pay as much as £200,000 towards their care costs.

A poorer pensioner with just £150,000 would only pay £50,000.

The £100,000 floor is FOUR TIMES the current level of protection.

To help fund the dramatic plan, the Tories will scrap winter fuel payments for wealthy pensioners – as exclusively revealed by the Sun two days ago.

Currently some £2 billion a year is spent helping 12 million OAPs meet the cost of their gas and electricity – regardless of how well off they are.

This cash will be added to the extra £2 billion set aside for the social care budget by Chancellor Philip Hammond in the Budget.

The social care revolution will form one of five “great challenges” Theresa May has vowed to confront in today’s manifesto – entitled ‘Forward, Together’.

She will say it’s a sign of her “declaration of intent” and part of a plan for a “stronger Britain and a prosperous future”.

And in a dig at David Cameron and George Osborne, she will say the social care problem is one that “successive governments have failed to tackle”.

On the eve of the 2015 Election, Mr Cameron promised to cap the amount someone can be charged for residential care at £72,000.

The promise was broken just two months after the Election victory with decision deferred until the end of the decade – sparking uproar.

Tory sources last night said Theresa May’s plan would address the “fundamental unfairness at the heart of Britain’s elderly care system”.

It will also protect pensioners from the “huge costs that can accumulate” especially for long-term conditions such as dementia.

Under the shake-up, people’s assets will also for the first time be assessed to judge an individual’s ability to pay for home care just as they are for residential care – in a bid to help cash-starved councils.

And it could allow the Conservatives to completely outflank both Labour and the Lib Dems – who this week committed extra funds but talked of the need for a review into a longer-term solution.

Britain’s social care crisis has dogged the Conservatives ever since Theresa May came to power. Critics have claimed a chronic funding and staff shortage has left the sector on its knees.

Just two months ago, a care home in Leeds was forced to close its nursing wing because of a lack of staff. Last August the Care Quality Commission declared a care home in Derbyshire was so short-staffed residents had been reduced to caring for each other.

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The scale of the problem is only expected to get worse. There will be a third more people aged over 85 in 2024 in Britain than there were in 2014.

Speaking earlier yesterday Mrs May refused to say what would be in today’s manifesto but revealed a glimpse of her ideology when challenged over the economy. She said she was a “low tax Tory” and wanted people to be able to keep more of their money.

In the foreword to today’s manifesto, she will say it the Election pledges map out a vision for Britain’s future “not just for the next five years, but beyond”.

She will also make another appeal for unity as Britain enters Brexit negotiations. She will say: “The next five years as the most challenging that Britain has faced in my lifetime.

“Brexit will define us: our place in the world, our economic security and our future prosperity.”

She will call for a unity of purpose stretching across this “precious union of unions”. She will say: “As we embark on the momentous journey ahead of us over the next few years, our shared values, interests and ambitions can – and must – bring us together as a united country.”

In a promise to voters she will add: “This is a declaration of intent: a commitment to get to grips with the great challenges of our time and to take the big, difficult decisions that are right for Britain in the long term.

“People are rightly sceptical of politicians who claim to have easy answers to deeply complex problems.

“It is the responsibility of leaders to be straight with people about the challenges ahead and the hard work required to overcome them.”

The Tories manifesto will also:

• END the pension triple lock which guarantees a minimum annual rise in state pensions, to take on 'inter-generational unfairness'
• ABANDON a pledge not to raise National Insurance Contributions — but recommit the Tories to long-promised income tax cuts for basic and higher rate taxpayers.
• TOUGHEN immigration controls by doubling the charge companies must pay to bring skilled workers in from outside the EU.