Plans to fund social care by claiming stake in Guernsey properties heavily criticised

  • Roisin Gauson has been exploring the controversial plan to fund social care being considered

Guernsey's government is considering taking a percentage of people's homes after they die to fund the cost of social care, a local politician has revealed in the States.

Deputy Neil Inder - who leads the island's Economic Development Committee - used parliamentary privilege to claim the move is being considered as part of the upcoming Support Living and Ageing Well Strategy, which is being developed.

Three different committees are currently working on the scheme, which aims to design a new care model that's affordable, fair and sustainable.

While the government has told ITV News that a decision has yet to be made on the policy, the proposal has been strongly criticised by islanders.

Most pensioners we spoke to say it wouldn't be fair to raid property assets when others - such as those in rental properties - wouldn't have to pay a penny.

Dave Lowe, 96, has been paying into Guernsey's system for more than 70 years.

He believes the idea is very unfair: "Having [property] taken away even after our death is one of the ideas they've got.

"They can't get you while you're living, but they'll get you when you're dead."

His wife Heather has other plans for their home once they've gone: "I want my house to be for my children and nothing else. I don't want the States to have anything to do with it."

Dave and Heather Lowe say they want to leave their property to their children after they die, rather than the States. Credit: ITV Channel

It's not the first time an idea like this has been discussed by Guernsey's government.

Former bank manager and treasury politician Jack Honeybill says plans like these require a lot of careful thought.

He said the scheme is something the government ought to seriously consider to generate revenue for the States: "You don't have to help yourself to the whole of a property but you could come out with something that was discussed properly and was equitable and then say right you have to give us a bond over that which will obviously only be paid back when the property is sold."

Residents in Guernsey will have a chance to share their thoughts on the plans via a series of public meetings being held in the new year.

Those will help to shape the final proposals, which will come back to the States in the first half of 2024.

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