INHERITANCE TAX AND LONG-TERM CARE

Early day motion 2074, tabled 9 October 2007 by Lynne Jones (Labour). Signed by 19 members.

That this House notes that a third of people will develop dementia or other conditions requiring long-term care, which will mean that if they are home-owners of modest means, they are likely to have to sell their homes to meet the costs of long-term care and will thus have no inheritance left to tax; further notes that the proposal to increase the zero-rated band for inheritance tax to £700,000 for couples will cost £1 billion a year more than existing plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold; and therefore considers that this resource would have been more fairly applied to the introduction of free long-term care as recommended by the Royal Commission and more recently in a report by Sir Derek Wanless for the Rowntree Foundation, a measure that has been successfully introduced in Scotland with the result that informal care has increased enabling more people to remain in their homes rather than requiring residential care.

Signatures by party: Labour 13, Independent 2, Liberal Democrat 2, Plaid Cymru 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.