I'm not sure whether this is saying the same thing in a different way, but as I read it it was not so much a cap on assets as a maximum charge that people will have to pay for care.
The issue I have with that is that it will disproportionately affect the residual incomes of those in areas of the UK where houses are cheaper, so yet again, the North/South divide will widen. £100k is going to be a much higher percentage of the estates of people in less expensive areas than of those in the SE, particularly London.
I don't know what can be done about that, really, but it would be good to see a genuine attempt to 'level up' as promised, and this may have been a vehicle with which to do it.
Otherwise, it seems a lot fairer than the current system, under which people can be completely wiped out by a care bill that is free for others. The devil will be in the detail, though.
I see that Jeremy Hunt is calling for the money to be raised from tax instead of NI, and that's probably fairer, as it will impact on all taxpayers, not just those in work, although I do wish commentators would remember that older people have already paid into the system for years - it's not as though young people are being expected to do anything we didn't.
