PM’s shameful silence on reform of Social Care
HOW shameful that the recent Queen’s speech was almost silent on Social Care reform.
This was a real surprise to me at least, given on the very day he was appointed Prime Minister, Johnson told us all he had a plan to sort out and fix this. It seems this must just have been another of his porkies.
The Tories have been in power for 11 years now without getting round to addressing this and things have inevitably got worse as time has gone on.
Surely, anyone who is lucky enough to make it to a ripe old age ought to be able to see out the rest of their days with dignity, the support they need, and without having to worry about how it is all going to be paid for?
While many other councils have also done likewise, there are people currently living in Kirklees who back in 2010 would have qualified for council-funded Social Care, but who now can’t access such support due to the council tightening its eligibility criteria as part of the bonfire of service delivery it had to carry out to deal with the enormous reductions in its funding it was faced with during the decade of Governmentimposed austerity.
You can add to the inadequate and unjust funding arrangements:
1. A fragmented and deeply flawed system of service delivery;and
2. The appallingly low levels of pay many people who work in Social Care receive.
I know from my own family’s experience that the value of what Social Care workers do does not bear any relation whatsoever to what they are actually paid.
It really is high time the Government got round to sorting this all out. None of us are getting any younger...
Blueprint not so green
DOES Kirklees council really care about the environment and climate change?
I refer to Kirklees council’s Blueprint for Huddersfield in which it is clearly stated: “Green spaces like these in the town centres help us in our commitment to tackle climate change as they can improve air quality and biodiversity, as well as boosting personal wellbeing.”
So, may I ask why trees and shrubs were recently ripped out at the junction of Lower Fitzwilliam Street and Leeds Road intersection, against the council’s own blueprint?
It would seem that in one end of the town the Kirklees Council cabinet are making policy decisions – while at the other end of the town
Kirklees council officers are doing the exact opposite.
Animating our transport network
WHAT next steps do your readers advise Tracy Brabin to take On The Buses, given the huge task that now awaits her team’s attention.
A sizzle in the old sparkin’ plugs, more oomph for the flagging fuel injection, or a bigger-than-usual bee under the bonnet?