Who would look after you if you could not look after yourself? Your partner? Your children? The State? Who would pay for it?

These are questions most people don’t want to think about – and that is posing a problem. Last year the Government launched a public consultation on social care in England and it is preparing a Green Paper on its reform.

But research published this week by the Institute for Public Policy Research and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) suggests that most people don’t have a clue about social care. A survey of almost 2,000 people commissioned by the two organisations showed that “there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty about the nature of social care services”. Most people know that residential homes provide social care, but there is confusion over what constitutes social and health care – with some believing it also encompasses care for the homeless and drugs misusers.

Nor can the majority of people decide whether social care services are good quality or not: 27 per cent said they “don’t know” and 28 per cent said the standard of care was “neither good nor bad”.

The two organisations also say in their report, Expectations & Aspirations: Public Attitudes Towards Social Care, that most people are confused about how the services are paid for – with only 46 per cent aware that care provision is means-tested.

Not surprisingly in a nation where many people have fierce pride in the National Health Service, the majority are opposed to this means-testing approach – only 18 per cent in the survey were in favour. What is wanted is a free service based on need. People do not want to pay for their relatives: 52 per cent said they believed they should not be compelled to pay for relatives’ care and many would prefer professional staff, not family members, to provide any necessary care.

Carey Oppenheim, co-director of the institute, says: “Our research shows that there is confusion about existing provision and a substantial gap between public expectations and social care realities.

“The Government urgently needs to address this disconnect before it brings forward policy proposals that seek to fundamentally reform the social contract between the State and its citizens.” The need for social care will only increase as the population ages, but 69 per cent in the survey admit that thy are not well enough informed about social care and its funding, which hampers a public consultation. People want to know more and they want a public debate on the topic.

The institute and PwC recommend that an independent panel be established by the Government tasked with informing and generating public debate on social care. This panel should include carers, people being cared for, and representatives from key organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Last year, Gordon Brown admitted: “Our system for supporting those who need care is currently ill equipped to provide a high-quality service for all who need it.” It sounds like it is in all our interests to take an active interest.

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