Care services review

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the news that Gordon Brown has launched a six-month consultation on how to fund social care for an ageing population

Responses from:

• Age Concern
• Help the Aged
• MS Society

Party response: Liberal Democrat

Nick Clegg, party leader, said: "We've had 11 years of delay and dither from this government on the crisis in social care for older people.

"The treatment of elderly people is a stain on the moral conscience of society.
 
"Elderly people in desperate need of better care will now have to wait until the next election before any action is taken. This is totally unacceptable.

"This government has presided over a collapse in elderly services. Ministers have responded to the chronic warnings of a looming crisis only with criminal under-funding.

"The Liberal Democrats are still the only party to offer an immediate solution to this crisis. Our proposals for a 'personal care payment' would ensure a fair deal for all elderly people who need personal care and would put an end to the injustice of poor access to social care."

Stakeholder response: Age Concern

To send a comment to Age Concern click here

Gordon Lishman, director general, said: "The way many older people and their families are currently treated by the care system is national disgrace. Without radical reform we are all facing a care lottery in which we risk losing not only any savings we may have but our dignity and independence.

"We are pleased that Gordon Brown has recognised this issue is at the heart of creating a fairer nation. What is needed is a solution based not on what we think we can afford today, but the care we know many of us will need tomorrow."


Stakeholder response: Help the Aged

To send a comment to Help the Aged clickhere

Paul Cann, director of policy and spokesperson for the Right care Right deal campaign, said: "Social care is in crisis. Fifty per cent of those who qualify for help don't get it, because councils cannot afford to help anyone not in dire need. 

"The green paper presents a golden opportunity to fix what many experience as a broken system - unfit for the future and unable to deliver the quality of care and support they wish for.  

"It's vital that the government step up and recognise that this is a spending priority .  They must commit to transforming the system into one that is easy to understand,   fair and sustainable, but above all which helps people live the life that they choose.  

"We must be brave enough to put every aspect of our current system under the microscope. There must be a national debate, including not only politicians and policymakers, but care users themselves and future users of the system."