Lib Dems Join Call for Extra Money and a New Funding System
March 30, 2006 9:57 AM
A major review published today has said that social care for older people will require sharp increases in funding to meet the demand. The Wanless report, commissioned by the King's Fund, said that simply keeping pace with population changes caused by increasing numbers of older people - and not seeking to improve care services or the way they are funded - would require total spending to more than double by 2026.
Janet Godden, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health and Community Services, said, "I hope the Government will take this report very seriously and act on its recommendations. We all remember how it ignored the recommendations of its own Royal Commission for Long term Care about free personal care for the elderly. This was subsequently introduced by the Liberal Democrats in Scotland, where it has proved both workable and affordable. If the Government now ignores the recommendations of the Wanless report as well, the Labour Party will lose all credibility as a party with any interest in the welfare and wellbeing of older people.
"And here in Oxfordshire the Conservative administration has chosen this year to reduce the social care budget for older people by £1.6m when it was already facing a significant shortfall just to stand still. The Conservatives claim that these 'reductions' are not 'cuts'. I have asked them to explain this and look forward to their answer.
"In the meantime, elderly people - as this national report shows - are facing year on year budget cuts, which can only mean longer waits for nursing, residential or home care, increased demands on carers, and increased loneliness and decreased quality of life."
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