Fury greets the silence over social care reform
AN avalanche of criticism was directed at the Government yesterday after reform of the UK’s crisis-hit social care system was delayed yet again.
The Queen’s Speech contained just a single sentence on the subject, with the monarch saying: ‘Proposals on social care reform will be brought forward.’
Senior Tories – including former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-deputy prime minister Damian Green – led the attack. Mr Hunt had hoped a cap would be announced.
He said: “Around one in 10 of us will have catastrophically high care costs and it’s an incredible worry for people
“It’s a lottery.You don’t know, that could be you, I think in a civilised society we should find a way of taking away that worry.”
Mr Green, who commissioned a Government green paper on social care in 2017, said he was frustrated it was taking so long for social care to be addressed.
He said: “I am absolutely insistent this needs to be the year for action and decision rather than kicking the can down the road any further.”
Campaigners, charities and care groups have long been calling for a plan to fix the sector, which the
Prime Minister promised in his first speech after being elected in July 2019.
But Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are said to be battling over the cost of it. And yesterday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman was forced to deny that Mr Johnson had misled the country when he said at that time that he had already prepared a “clear plan” to fix the system. Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “This is a missed opportunity. “Without the muchneeded, not to mention heralded, reform it is questionable as to how much longer the sector can be expected to limp on.
“A sector that supports and employs vast swathes of the population cannot be ignored.”
Chairman of the Independent Care Group Mike Padgham said older and vulnerable people have been “betrayed” and reform has been “pushed down the road”.
He said: “Yes, social care was mentioned in the Queen’s Speech but in reality, the Government was just paying lip service to the reform that is now so long overdue.”
A briefing note from Number 10, accompanying the speech, said the Government will engage with staff about how to support the 1.5 million-strong workforce and ensure reform is “informed by diverse perspectives”.
It noted that care costs are unpredictable, can be very high, and that “not all the risk is shared across society”.
The average cost of a place in a residential care home is around £750 a week – but much higher in many places.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK and co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance, said: “There is no avoiding the need for the Government to invest billions more into care.”
Fiona Carragher, director of research and influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It’s time for the Government to honour promises with a concrete plan for the 850,000 people with dementia in the UK.
“They need high-quality, accessible social care, free at the point of use, like the NHS.”