In Britain, when someone gets old, they often go to live in a home with other old people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government has to pay for this care. Who do you think should pay for this care, the government or the family?

As the population’s average

age

is increasing, a large number of elderly

people

with complex

care

requirements due to issues like dementia or low mobility. These

people

can often no longer be cared for by their

families

, and in Britain, many end up moving into residential

care

homes with specialist staff.

This

is expensive, and whether these costs should be borne by the

government

or the person’s relatives is debatable. There is a strong argument in favour of

families

paying for an elderly person’s

care

in a nursing

home

. When

people

have children, they often do so as a form of insurance against old

age

. By investing their time and

money

into raising their children and ensuring that they are healthy and receive the best education, parents allow their offspring to find well-paid jobs.

This

investment is often made with their old

age

in mind to ensure that their

families

can provide for them in any eventuality, including

care

in a nursing

home

.

Consequently

, it could be argued that the family should pay for the maintenance of elderly

people

. Despite

this

, there are several important counterarguments.

Firstly

, not all

families

are wealthy enough to afford expensive nursing

home

fees. It would be unreasonable to bankrupt working

people

to provide

care

for elderly relatives who require specialist intervention. More importantly, throughout their careers,

people

pay taxes to the

government

, and it is reasonable for them to expect a return for

this

money

. The

government

should plan appropriately for the future and budget

accordingly

, setting

money

aside for state pension pots and residential

care

for elderly

people

whose

families

can no longer support them. For these reasons, it should be the

government

’s responsibility to pay for nursing

home

care

. In conclusion, there is a clear argument that

families

should pay for the

care

of their elderly relatives.

However

, I believe the

government

should cover these costs, as not everyone can afford to pay for expensive residential

care

. The

government

should save and invest the tax

money

people

pay to provide for them if they need

care

in their old

age

.