We need more cash to prevent care crisis

SOCIAL care is set to be the new front line for our public services as our population steadily ages.

Hospitals across the country are inundated with older patients who have nowhere to go, while local authorities are left struggling to provide the at-home care services many people desperately need.

In an attempt to help care services keep up with demand, the Government has asked local councils to raise council tax by 3 per cent to cover the cost. This week, I spoke in Parliament to say that’s not good enough.

At a time when local authorities are having tough cuts forced upon them, the Government must do more than offer up this council tax hike to places like Rochdale which are already dealing with a number of economic and social challenges.

The Conservative government’s 3 per cent levy would raise only £2.8 million for Rochdale. It is a sticking plaster which doesn’t even cover the cost of properly paying workers in the social care sector.

The lack of funding for social care is having a devastating impact on people requiring care, carers and workers themselves. Not only that, according to Age UK, the number of 85-year-olds is set to double over 20 years, meaning that demand for social care will increase as services are placed under even greater strain.

It is increasingly obvious social care is set to become a postcode lottery without proper funding. The 3 per cent levy will mean that wealthier local authorities will be able to raise far more funds for their services than poorer ones.

Social care is facing a crisis on all fronts. As Rochdale’s MP, I’m asking the Government to take seriously its responsibility to provide social care and to provide those services with the funds it desperately needs.