Twigg blasts lack of social care funding
HALTON’S MP blasted the lack of funding for social care arrangements and said the Government should be ‘ashamed of themselves’.
Derek Twigg spoke to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt during a debate in the House Of Commons on Tuesday, March 20.
Mr Twigg said he has received a document from Halton Borough Council sent out by Cheshire and Merseyside NHS saying the local authority should be looking at there being a minimum of one choice of place for people coming out of hospital into a care home.
Halton’s Labour MP – who has been the constituency’s representative in Westminster since first being elected in 1997 – said that if a care home could not be met, then ● ‘transitional placements’ would be looked at.
Mr Twigg said: “So it will have to ask people who are frail and elderly to go into transitional placements, and that will cost more money.
“How are people going to cope with this?
“At the end of the day, the problem is this: there is not enough money; there is not enough to pay for good quality staff; and there are not enough places.
“The Government should be ashamed of themselves.
Health Secretary Mr Hunt responded by claiming Mr Twigg’s party should be ‘ashamed of itself’ for the financial crisis 10 years ago which he said has created ‘such huge pressure’ in the health and social care systems.
Though Mr Hunt admitted cuts were made to social care when the coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats came into power in 2010, he pointed to increased funding since then.
He said: “Yes, in 2010 there were some cuts in the social care system, but that has changed now and over this Parliament the budget is going up, with £9.4bn of additional resources, which is an 8.6% increase in real terms.
“We need to go further, however, which is why we have a Green Paper.”