Boris’s £1bn boost for social care as he vows: We’ll fix this
He’ll refuse to resign if MPs vote down his Queen’s Speech
BORIS Johnson pledged yesterday to ensure dignity in old age for all – with substantial fresh action on social care funded in part by rises in council tax.
The Queen’s Speech included a long-awaited vow to bring forward new laws to ‘fix the crisis’.
Ministers announced that in the short term the Government will put in an extra £1billion next year to fund care.
In addition, they want town halls to be able to put up their council tax bills by 2 per cent a year – to raise a further £500million. That would add £35 to the average Band D council tax bill – just short of £3 a month.
This rise comes on top of the 3 per cent town halls are already allowed to put council tax up by, meaning that in total the Band D bill could rise by £87 next year.
The Daily Mail is campaigning for an end to England’s dementia care crisis, which sees thousands of families having to sell their homes to fund sky-high care bills.
Charities gave Mr Johnson’s promise to bring in social care legislation a cautious welcome, and said the extra money would go some way to shore up the system before longterm reforms are brought in.
But they criticised the Government for putting the onus on councils to raise the extra cash, while Labour condemned it as a ‘stealth tax’.
The pledge came as a damning report laid out the consequences of past governments’ failures to tackle the crisis.
Meanwhile, the Queen announced in her speech that ministers will ‘bring forward proposals to reform adult social care in England to ensure dignity in old age’.
The Government said: ‘In the recent spending round, Government announced that councils will be provided with access to an additional £1billion for adult and children’s social care next year.
‘The Government will consult on a 2 per cent precept that will enable councils to access a further £500million for adult social care. This funding will support local authorities to meet rising demand and will continue to stabilise the social care system. We will bring forward substantial proposals to fix the crisis in social care to give everyone the dignity and security they deserve.’
Town halls have been allowed to add 2 per cent on their bills to pay for social care over the past three years – but it had been thought the years of rises were at an end. The promise of future action on social care in the Queen’s Speech was cautiously welcomed by charities yesterday.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: ‘We’re pleased the Queen’s Speech said that the Government intends to bring forward proposals on adult social care but conscious that we’ve been here before and ultimately been badly let down.’
And Professor John Appleby, chief economist at the Nuffield Trust, said he was disappointed the speech included no concrete proposals. ‘The social care system is on its knees and currently unable to meet the urgent needs of thousands of vulnerable and elderly people in this country – we thought that all parties agreed that serious change was needed,’ he said.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, added: ‘All we’ve had today, aside from promises, is a reiteration of the spending review announcement that councils could be allowed to increase their tax by 2 per cent to fund social care. It’s not new money from the Government.’
And Barbara Keeley, Labour’s care spokesman, said: ‘Increasing council tax to pay for social care is a stealth tax. Social care needs a fairer long-term funding solution that reverses a decade of cuts...’
Last night, No 10 confirmed that there was no timescale for the reforms. A spokesman said: ‘I can’t set out a timeline now. We will be setting it out in due course.’
Hundreds of people with autism and learning disabilities are being needlessly kept in NHS hospitals as there is nowhere else for them to go.
Some 620 people were stuck in wards and secure units in August despite no longer needing inpatient care, NHS Digital figures show – more than a quarter of the 2,255 NHS inpatients with the conditions.
BORIS Johnson will not quit even if MPs vote down his Queen’s Speech, Downing Street said last night.
The Prime Minister yesterday unveiled his heavily trailed legislative programme with a promise to ‘get the gears on our national gearbox working again’.
The programme contained 26 separate Bills, with a heavy emphasis on fighting crime, delivering Brexit and improving key public services like health and education. Many of the measures are expected to form the basis of the next Tory election manifesto.
In the Commons, Mr Johnson said his plans would help make Britain ‘the greatest place on Earth’. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the programme a ‘farce’, pointing out that the Prime Minister was 45 votes short of a majority.
Allies of the PM last night conceded that MPs are likely to reject the Queen’s Speech when it is voted on next week. Such a move would be the first time a Government had lost its entire legislative programme since 1924, when the then Conservative PM
‘People are tired of waiting for change’
Stanley Baldwin was forced to resign. But Downing Street said Mr Johnson would not quit, and would continue to try to govern until Labour agreed to hold an election.
His official spokesman said: ‘If MPs do choose to vote against the Queen’s Speech it will be for them to explain why they are voting against greater support for public services including the police, schools and hospitals, why they are blocking legislation that will lead to serious and dangerous offenders spending more time in prison, and why they are standing in the way of significant infrastructure improvements.’
Sources said the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act meant the loss of a Queen’s Speech was no longer an automatic resignation issue. The speech included: Seven anti- crime Bills, including measures to ensure serious offenders serve at least two-thirds of their sentences;
Plans for a crackdown on single-use plastic as part of a wider package of environmental measures;
A pledge to tackle the social care crisis, together with plans for a 2 per cent surcharge on council tax to help pay for it;
A renewed commitment to take the UK out of the EU by the end of this month, with a deal if possible;
Controversial plans to require voters to produce photo IDs at polling stations to tackle electoral fraud;
Legislation to end free movement and introduce a new points-based immigration system after Britain leaves the EU;
Plans to force restaurants to hand over all tips to staff;
Legislation to allow for no-fault divorces.
Mr Johnson said his plans would usher in ‘a new age of opportunity’. Pledging to ‘get this amazing country of ours moving again,’ he added: ‘People are tired of stasis, gridlock and waiting for change. They don’t want to wait for improvements in their hospitals.
‘They don’t want to wait for their streets to be made safer. They don’t want to wait for their schools to have the funding they need. And they don’t want to wait any longer to get Brexit done.’
In the speech, the Queen said it was the Government’s ‘priority’ to leave the EU on October 31.
But accompanying documents stated: ‘We are leaving the European Union on October 31.’ Number 10 denied the anomaly reflected a split between Downing Street and the Palace.
A spokesman said: ‘ Queen’s Speeches are written in a particular form of language. They are different to the form of language the PM uses.’
Mr Corbyn savaged the new package, saying: ‘There has never been such a farce as a Government with a majority of minus-45 and a 100 per cent record of defeat in the
Commons setting out a legislative agenda they know cannot be delivered in this Parliament.’ He also suggested he could shortly back calls for an election.
But he was savaged by Mr Johnson for his flip-flopping on Brexit and mocked over reports that shadow Chancellor John Mcdonnell is masterminding a silent coup against him.
MPs will now debate the plans ahead of a crunch vote on the package next tuesday.
A Budget will take place on november 6, just a week after Britain is due to have left the eU, Chancellor sajid Javid announced yesterday. He said he would use it to ‘shape the economy for the future’.