Today, we have challenged Theresa May to answer ten pressing questions on the Dementia Tax and to come clean and give the voters the facts before the election takes place.

It is simply not good enough to dodge difficult questions and proper scrutiny during the campaign over an issue that will have such a huge impact over people’s lives.

Under Theresa May’s proposals, many would end up paying far more for their care.

Families deserve to know now what the Dementia Tax will mean for their homes, finances and relatives.

We have set out a clear set of questions Theresa May must answer in order to come clean to the British public and address their concerns.

The Liberal Democrats will keep campaigning to scrap the Dementia Tax and ensure no-one has to worry about catastrophic costs to pay for their care.

10 Questions Theresa May must answer on Dementia Tax

1. At what level will the cap on care costs be set?

Just this morning Amber Rudd said that there would be a cap -but that she didn’t know at what level it would be set. That contradicted both Theresa May and the Conservative manifesto. It’s time for Theresa May to come clean – at what level will the cap on care costs be set?

2. How will it be uprated?

Will it be in line with house prices? Inflation? Some other measure? The British people deserve to know.

3. Who does the £100,000 floor apply to?

Does the £100,000 floor just apply to households? Or does it also apply to individuals? 

4. Will the cap and £100,000 floor apply to care costs only?

Does the cap just apply to care costs or will it also include accommodation costs? Theresa May must come clean.

5. Will people need to pay an arrangement fee and interest?

Will people have to pay arrangement fees and interest on Deferred Payment Agreements for care costs, and if they do how will these charges be set?

The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM) currently charges 2.25% interest and a £900 set up fee plus £300 a year (read more here).

6. Will interest fees and fee payments for care costs be included under the cap?

Because if they aren’t – vulnerable elderly people could be hit with massive fees and charges, even after they sell their home.

7. Will local councils have to pay the additional costs for this scheme or will they be fully reimbursed by the Treasury?

If councils do have to pay additional costs that’ll be another drain on already stretched council budgets and cause even more cuts.

8. Will widows, widowers or dependent children be able to remain in the family home after their relative has died?

Forcing widows, widowers and dependent children to leave their homes after losing a relative – especially where they are elderly themselves would be an absolute disgrace. So would they be forced to sell the home to pay for care costs.

Theresa May must come clean on what her dementia tax will mean for the families of those affected.

9. What interest rate will be charged on a deferred payment once the beneficiary has died? 

The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead charge 8% if not settled within 90 days of death – will the charge be similar? Higher? Lower?

10. Will measures be put place to prevent people avoiding the Dementia Tax, for example by releasing equity or gifting a house to children or grandchildren more than seven years before their death?

The Liberal Democrats have committed in their manifesto to implementing the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission, which would mean a cap on care costs of £72,000

A new survey for The Independent has found the majority of the public is now in favour of banning the most-polluting vehicles from city centres.

Some 51 per cent of respondents agreed with this suggestion, with only 15 per cent against and the remainder not expressing a view, pollsters ORB said.

Commenting on the reports which shows the public back the Liberal Democrat policy of banning the most-polluting cars from city centres, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary Jenny Randerson said: “The air we allow our children to breathe is toxic and is leading to a national health crisis.

“If our water was as contaminated as the air we breathe the Tories would have been forced to take this seriously. Instead they are plying more dirt into the air and pushing through Heathrow expansion with no serious attempts to address the illegal emissions that are endangering people.

“Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to phasing out diesel vehicles and compensating drivers. We want to give all our children a brighter future in a fairer Britain, cleaning up our air will be a move in the right direction.”

View our environment policy

Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has launched a national movement calling on people, irrespective of their party affiliation, to stop the Conservatives’ planned Dementia Tax.

It comes alongside Liberal Democrat research that reveals that across England, 9 out 10 homes could be eligible for sale to meet Theresa May’s Dementia Tax.

Tim Farron is writing to key organisations about the campaign, including David Cameron as President of Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Writing to the leaders of leading health and older peoples’ charities, Tim Farron said: “The measure of a Government is how they treat the most vulnerable in our society. I don’t think that the Conservatives are unaware of the impact of their plans but they chose to ignore the human cost.

“Every elderly person that needs care should receive it in the best place for them and not be fearful of those mounting, limitless costs. I am determined that we ensure that Theresa May drops the so-called ‘Dementia Tax’ and implement a cap on the cost of care.

“Caring for our elderly must be above party politics and that is why I want to urge anyone who opposes the Conservatives’ plans to come together to stop it.

“We must resist this plan and challenge would-be Conservative MPs to reject and stop it.

“As a first step, I am urging people to sign up at dementiatax.org.uk to help. I hope you will urge the supporters of your organisation to do the same. Together we can stop the so-called ‘Dementia’ Tax.”

Sign up against the dementia tax

An announcement by the Labour Party that it would invest £45bn in the NHS and social care over five years as well as protect pensions could be rendered meaningless by Brexit, Liberal Democrats have said.

Treasury analysis from 2016 estimated that the form of Brexit supported by the Labour and Conservative parties – a negotiated bilateral agreement as opposed to membership of the single market – would rob public services of £36bn EACH YEAR. A botched Brexit could cost the Exchequer up to £45 billion a year. The government has neither formally rejected this analysis nor commissioned new figures since the referendum.

Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat Business spokesperson, said: “In the biggest fight for the future of our country in a generation, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour has let down those who need a strong NHS and a secure pension by voting with Theresa May on Brexit – not against her. Jeremy Corbyn ordered his MPs to vote in favour of Article 50 despite the Government making no concessions to them whatsoever, including on staying in the single market.

“Over the course of a parliament, Labour would have to find many times the amount they are promising on the NHS and social care just to pay its Brexit bill. But with trade with Europe set to be hit by an extreme Brexit, how could this be delivered?

“That’s why Liberal Democrats will give the people a chance to change Britain’s future by letting them reject a bad Brexit deal, putting a penny on income tax to rescue the NHS and social care, and reversing Theresa May’s heartless cuts to school funding.”

The Liberal Democrats have withdrawn their Party Election Broadcast that was due to air on BBC One in England this evening.  The party is replacing it with a heartfelt, personal and non-political message from leader Tim Farron following the heinous attack in Manchester on Monday.

In the emotive and deeply personal message, recorded yesterday, he reflects on his experience of visiting Manchester for the vigil in Albert Square on Tuesday night.

He goes on to talk of his love for Manchester, which he describes as ‘his capital’ having grown up in Lancashire, about the people he met there on Tuesday and the human acts of kindness and solidarity in response to the atrocity. He also says that while those who died will be remembered, the terrorist who killed them ‘died in vain’ attempting to divide a community that has rallied together instead.

He ends by quoting the poet Tony Walsh, who spoke at the vigil, saying that we are ‘all Manchester’ and ‘all Britain’, “whether we were born here or drawn here”.