Winter fuel payments should be means-tested to help pay for care of the elderly, a former minister says. A report by Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow and the Centre Forum think-tank, said targeting the allowance would help pay for a fairer social care system. The report said it could fund most of the £1.7bn cost of implementing reforms of elderly care in England proposed by the independent Dilnot Commission. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said a funding model was yet to be decided. The Dilnot Commission, which was set up by the government, recommended that the cap on the amount individuals have to pay towards their social care be set at £35,000 over a lifetime. The commission argued that such a move would protect people from catastrophic care costs that result in them having to sell their homes. As things stand, older people in England have to contribute to their care costs if they have savings of more than around £23,000. Under the proposals from Mr Burstow and the Centre Forum, the cap on the amount people should pay towards social care costs would be set at £60,000 but the amount of assets people could hold would rise to £100,000.....More on this story: BBC News -