States set to delay care decision - former deputy

The Employment and Social Security Committee (ESS) committee has been tasked with considering how care can be delivered at home and how it can be funded in the future

The States of Guernsey will not to make a decision on how long-term care is funded this year, a former deputy has said.

Michelle Le Clerc said this assembly would not make an "unpopular" decision before an election in 2025.

The Employment and Social Security Committee (ESS) committee is expected to bring plans for a new model of care before the end of June.

Mrs Le Clerc said the States would "kick the can down the road".

The ESS committee has been tasked to consider how community care can be delivered at home and how it can be funded in the future.

Currently, the long-term care insurance scheme helps cover some of the costs of residential care through the long-term care benefit.

Mrs Le Clerc was the president of Employment and Social Security Committee between 2016 and 2020.

In 2020, Mrs Le Clerc led plans to change the current community long-term care model, including increasing the benefit and co-payment rates to fund care in care homes.

She added: "The big ticket stuff is coming up at the end of this term, and they know what will get them elected and they know what won't, so I don't think any big issues will be settled."

At a States meeting in November 2023, Economic Development Committee President Neil Inder warned of proposals to take a percentage of people's homes after they die to fund the cost of social care.

In 2020, the States also agreed to look at a higher rate of benefits to cover more complex care needs.

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