A spokesperson for Department of Health & Social Care said proposals would be published at the first opportunity in 2019.

The green paper including options for future funding was announced by chancellor Philip Hammond in the 2017 March Budget and planned for the following autumn.

In November last year, the government said it intended to publish the document in the summer. This deadline slipped to the autumn before the postponement to next year.

The government has made a series of funding pledges since the announcement of the green paper, most recently an additional £240m announced in October for 2018-19.

Paul Edwards, director of clinical services at Dementia UK, said the postponements of the green paper reflected a government “refusing to wake up to the reality of a health and social care system in crisis”.

He said the document should provide an “urgently needed” joined-up approach between the health and social care sectors. 

“Recurring calls to our helpline from people facing the toughest cases of dementia show the widening gap between health and social care policies,” Mr Edwards added. 

“They do not know who they can turn to at a time when the NHS and local authorities are at breaking point.

”These callers as well as the public at large deserve clarity and they deserve compassion,” he said. “Further delays to the green paper will result in neither.”

Heidi Travis, chief executive of the charity Sue Ryder, branded the latest delay a ”real disappointment”.

“Social care funding is an urgent issue and along with the realities of an ageing society, it is critical that we find a sustainable solution,” she added. 

“It is quite simply unacceptable to have a social care system that is not effectively funded to meet people’s needs.”

Source: NursingTimes