UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Social Care

  • Sajid Javid – 2021 Comments on Adult Social Care

    Sajid Javid – 2021 Comments on Adult Social Care

    The comments made by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 1 December 2021.

    The pandemic has been an important turning point for social care, putting into the spotlight the incredible work the sector delivers day in and day out and highlighting the urgent need for change.

    This ten-year vision clearly lays out how we will make the system fairer and better to serve everyone, from the millions of people receiving care to those who are providing it.

    We are investing in our country’s future – boosting support to help people live at home with their families for longer and ensuring that health and care work hand in hand so people get the help they need.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Boris Johnson’s Social Care Plans

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Boris Johnson’s Social Care Plans

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 24 November 2021.

    Another broken promise from the Prime Minister means families across the country still face the catastrophic prospect of selling their home, while paying more in taxes to protect the mansions and estates of the wealthiest.

    It’s a working-class dementia tax.

  • Liz Kendall – 2021 Speech to the National Children and Adult Services Conference

    Liz Kendall – 2021 Speech to the National Children and Adult Services Conference

    The speech made by Liz Kendall, the Shadow Social Care Minister, on 25 November 2021.

    I want to start by thanking all of you and all of your teams for everything you’ve done over the last 18 months during this awful, awful pandemic.

    I know from my Director Martin Samuels and my local lead for social care Cllr Sarah Russell the pressures you’ve been under week in, week out relentlessly, and my constituents would not have got through this without everything you’ve done – so thank you.

    I think that transforming social care is the challenge of our generation. And this was true way before the pandemic struck, but that Covid 19 has exposed more than ever the urgent need for reform.

    So far, the Government has fallen woefully short of the mark.

    Their National Insurance tax rise wont “fix the crisis in social care” let alone build a system fit for the 21st century. The so-called ‘NHS and Care Levy’ won’t provide any additional resources for social care until at least 2023, with little if any guarantee of extra funding after that.

    As ADASS have said, It won’t provide a single extra minute of care and support or a better quality of life for older and disabled people. It won’t tackle endemic staff shortages and low pay or do anything to help millions of unpaid family carers who’ve just been pushed to breaking point trying to look after the people they love.

    And I’m afraid that the Government’s cap on care costs won’t stop people from having to sell their homes to pay for care either, despite repeated promises from the Prime Minister.

    This week, the Conservatives voted through changes to the cap that mean those with low and modest assets won’t be protected from having to sell their homes, but those with houses worth £1 million will end up with 90% of their assets protected.

    So millions of working people will have to pay more tax – not to improve care services, or to protect their own or their parents’ homes, but only to protect the homes of the wealthiest.

    It’s unfair, it’s wrong, and the Government must think again.

    Ministers should go back to the drawing board, starting with the White Paper on Social Care, which we hear is ‘imminent’.

    This should be a ten year plan of investment and reform which deals with the immediate challenges, as we emerge from the pandemic and head into a difficult winter, and puts in place the longer-term reforms our country desperately needs for the future.

    Because whilst extra resources are essential, simply putting more money into a broken system won’t deliver better results for care users, or better value for taxpayers’ money.

    Today, I want to set out the tests the White Paper must meet if the Government’s going to deliver real and lasting change.

    The first test is improving access to social care. After a decade of cuts to local authority budgets, 300,000 people who have been assessed as needing care are now stuck on council waiting lists. Even more need help with the basics of daily living but are going without: around 1.5 million older people, according to Age UK.

    Ensuring all older and disabled people get the right support when and where they need it is essential to improving their quality of life, and its crucial to delivering better value for money too, so people don’t end up having to use more expensive hospital or residential care before their time.

    Increasing access to care must be part of a much more fundamental shift in the focus of support towards prevention and early intervention.

    We will always need residential and nursing homes, and there are huge challenges to address including the modernisation of facilities, but most people want to stay in their own home for as long as possible.

    The Government should enshrine the principle of ‘home first’, to help people live as independently as possible for as long as possible.

    That means bringing together all the different staff into one team – care workers, district nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists – to focus on keeping people at home and so families don’t have to battle their way around the system.

    It means ensuring people have the home adaptations they need, with new monitoring technologies – which can make a huge difference in supporting independent living – alongside early help from local community groups with things like shopping, cleaning and visits to tackle loneliness.

    I think the Government should also expand the range of housing options between care at home and a care home like extra care housing and retirement villages, which are much more common in other countries.

    The third test for the White Paper is delivering for disabled people.

    A third of the users and half of the budget for social care is for working age adults with disabilities and yet their needs have been almost entirely excluded from recent debates about social care reform, particularly the cap on care costs.

    The needs and concerns of disabled people must be at the heart of the White Paper: based on the principle of independent living and underpinned by greater choice and control, including through expanding the use of Direct Payments and Personal Budgets.

    The Government must also end – once and for all – the scandal of people with physical and learning disabilities being kept in long stay institutions. Ministers promised to do this over a decade ago but have repeatedly failed to deliver. This scandal is one of the worst public policy failures I’ve seen in my 20 years working in this sector.

    Today is Carers’ Rights Day, so the fourth test for the White Paper is transforming support for England’s 11 million unpaid family carers.

    Before Covid struck, almost half hadn’t had a single break for 5 years. Since the pandemic, 80 per cent of family carers say they’re doing even more. 1 in 3 now have to give up work or reduce their hours because they can’t get the help they need to look after the person the love. This makes no absolutely no sense for them or our economy.

    So the White Paper must set out how the Government will ensure councils can deliver the rights of unpaid carers which have already been set out in the Care Act; provide families with proper information, advice and breaks; and how they’re actually going to change the world of work, and improve flexible working so unpaid carers can better balance their work and family lives as we all live, and work, and care for longer.

    None of these improvements will be possible without radical improvements in the workforce.

    I don’t need to tell you that across the country staff, shortages are the most pressing issue the sector faces.

    There are currently over 100,000 vacancies in social care and we need half a million additional care workers by 2030 just to meet demographic demand.

    Labour is calling for a New Deal for Care Workers, to transform their pay, training, terms and conditions, ensure proper career progression and so frontline care staff are equally valued with those in the NHS. We will never improve the quality of care unless this happens.

    But there’s something even more fundamental that needs to change if we’re going to deliver lasting reform.

    Every time I speak to people who actually use care and support, I am struck by the yawning chasm between what they want for their own lives and what ‘the system’ – and let’s be honest, wider political debate – actually offers.

    Social care isn’t only about helping older and disabled people get up, washed dressed and fed, vital though that is.

    At its best, social care is about something both more simple and more profound: ensuring every older and disabled person can live the life they choose, in the place they call home, with the people they love, doing the things that matter to them most.

    In other words, an equal life to everybody else.

    The brilliant group Social Care Future has pioneered this vision. Making it a reality means ensuring the people who use services, and their families, are equal partners in determining services and support.

    You simply cannot get social care right or deliver high-quality personalised care unless this happens.

    Take an older person with dementia. If you don’t work with their family to understand what their food they like, or the songs they like listening to, or the films they like watching, then you won’t be able to provide them with the best quality care and support.

    Or the disabled woman in her 30s who told her council she needed a couple of extra hours support to go and see her friends, but was instead referred to the locally commissioned ‘befriending service’ of people she had never met. No wonder she turned them down!

    We have got to stop doing things ‘to’ or ‘for’ people and start doing things with people. That includes ensuring care users shape how staff are trained, how services are locally commissioned and nationally regulated, and how support is delivered on the ground.

    Quite frankly, unless the White Paper is absolutely explicit about this, and how it will be achieved, I fear it will end up gathering dust alongside the many other White and Green papers we have seen before.

    In conclusion, when the welfare state was created, average life expectancy was 63. Now it is 80 and 1 in 4 babies born today are set to live to 100.

    Social care was left out of the initial post war settlement but is now essential to ensuring older and disabled people can live the life they choose. It is essential to helping families stay in work as we all live and care for longer, and it is crucial to an effectively functioning NHS too.

    In the century of ageing, social care must be at the heart of a modernised welfare state. It is as much as part of our infrastructure as the roads and railways, but it urgently needs investment and reform.

    That is the scale of ambition we need from this White Paper.

    It is time the Government delivered.

  • Sally Greengross – 2021 Speech on Dementia

    Sally Greengross – 2021 Speech on Dementia

    The speech made by Baroness Sally Greengross in the House of Lords on 16 November 2021.

    My Lords, since 2015 dementia has been the leading cause of death in the UK, and there are currently 850,000 people who are living with the condition in this country. Of course, there are many different types of dementia, which all have very different symptoms and progress at different rates. We know that in the coming years the number of people living with some form of dementia is projected to increase significantly. This will place an even greater strain on our health and care system.

    Research into dementia is critical. It may help prevent the occurrence of these conditions and will certainly allow people living with them a better quality of life. Dementia does not just affect those who have the condition; it also has a profound impact on family, carers and loved ones. Many of us in this Chamber will have experienced seeing someone we care about getting dementia and wanting to do anything we could to ease the suffering for them and those who support them. I declare my interest in the register as chief executive of the International Longevity Centre UK, which is currently working on a project analysing the impact of dementia on the high street and the retail sector. The growing number of people living with dementia will impact on the whole of society and have a significant economic impact as well.

    In the 2019 general election, the Conservative Party made a commitment to bringing forward a dementia moonshot and

    “doubling research funding into dementia”

    over the next decade. Figures from the National Institute for Health Research show that this would increase government investment in dementia research from £83 million a year to £166 million, although I gather the Government’s figures differ from this. I am sure the Minister will respond on this point.

    The Government have confirmed on many occasions that they intend to uphold the promise to double dementia research funding over the next decade. However, to date, they have announced no details of this. In early 2021, the All-Party Group on Dementia, which I co- chair with Debbie Abrahams MP, held an inquiry into the state of dementia research in the UK and investigated how this funding could best be used to support work in this field. The inquiry found that funding for dementia research was lower than that for other medical conditions; for example, funding was three times higher for cancer research than for dementia. However, the UK has to date been a world leader in dementia research, with only the United States spending more on research into these conditions.

    The pandemic has taken a serious toll on dementia research, with many programmes having to be paused or even abandoned during 2020. One serious issue has been the reliance on charity funding, which in this country makes up 51% of dementia research funding. As we know, the economic conditions we now face due to the pandemic have considerably reduced charities’ ability to fundraise. The other factor has been the impact of Covid-19 on people already living with dementia. In the first 12 months of the pandemic, it is believed that 34,000 people who died of Covid-19 also had some form of dementia. One area that needs greater research is the impact of Covid-19 on those with dementia, as there is some evidence that the symptoms differed in Covid-19 patients who did not have dementia, and the Covid-19 mortality rate for those with dementia was considerably higher. Due to the need for social distancing to stop the spread of the disease, much of this or other ongoing dementia research could not take place.

    There is evidence that there are at least 12 modifiable risks that can help reduce dementia. While research has shown that there are actions we can take individually and as a population to prevent some forms of dementia, very little is being done in the way of public education and awareness.

    The other area of research that surveys show has strong public support is improving early detection. Some medications available on the market can slow the progress of some dementias, at least for a small amount of time, and early detection provides the best opportunity for these treatments to work. There is also some evidence that social prescribing, particularly exposure to art and music—particularly music, I think—can play a positive role in delaying the progress, or improving the quality of life, for those who have received an early diagnosis of dementia.

    A few years ago, I had the privilege of going to an orchestral performance conducted by a gentleman who had had dementia for over 20 years. He had not been able to speak for many years, yet he often hummed tunes, and a group of music students were able to transcribe his music and perform it in a big concert hall. Seeing this man with dementia come alive, as he conducted the orchestra playing his music, was a very moving experience for me and taught me the importance of social prescribing. This is simply one area where we can learn so much more.

    One of the concerning findings of this inquiry was the lack of evidence-based care approaches when supporting people with dementia. The Wellbeing and Health for People Living with Dementia project, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, starkly demonstrated this lack of evidence-based care. In a review of 170 training manuals for person-centred care in dementia, researchers found that only four provided evidence that methods had worked when tested in a research setting.

    The all-party report made a number of important recommendations, including: that a priority for new dementia research funding should include investment in novel methods for early diagnosis, such as blood and other biomarkers; confirm appropriate funding for the UK Dementia Research Institute for at least the next 10 years; and build on the success of the multidisciplinary approach of the Alzheimer’s Society’s centres of excellence model and further expand this by introducing three new centres that will focus on some of the biggest challenges in dementia research. It also recommended that the Government should establish a specific fund of £40 million to support both clinical and pre-clinical postdoctoral research positions and talent retention in dementia research, and that the Government should develop a Longitude Prize for dementia, which would support the development of novel technologies. It also recommended that Join Dementia Research become an opt-out model and that data gaps in this programme should be addressed by integrating it with electronic patient records. Lastly, it recommended that the new Office for Health Promotion should launch public information campaigns which would explain how the public can take steps to reduce their dementia risk.

    Finally, I acknowledge the Government’s recent announcement that they will spend £95 million on the delivery of their Life Sciences Vision and £2.3 billion to transform NHS diagnostic services. Can the Minister please clarify how this funding will benefit those people living with dementia and the dementia research community as a whole?

  • Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on the Social Care Cap

    Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on the Social Care Cap

    The comments made by Liz Kendall, the Shadow Social Care Minister, on 17 November 2021.

    This small print, sneaked out today under a cloud of Tory sleaze, shows Boris Johnson’s so-called cap on care costs is an even bigger con than we initially thought.

    We already knew most people won’t hit the cap because it doesn’t cover board and lodging in care homes, and that at £86,000 the cap would still mean many people will have to sell their homes to pay for their care – against everything Boris Johnson promised.

    It has now been revealed that the poorest pensioners will have to pay even more, something Andrew Dilnot – who proposed the cap – explicitly ruled out because it was so unfair. That this Tory Government has failed to be straight with those who’ve given so much to our country is a total disgrace, but utterly unsurprising. Our elderly people deserve better.

  • Therese Coffey – 2021 Statement on the Household Support Fund

    Therese Coffey – 2021 Statement on the Household Support Fund

    The statement made by Therese Coffey, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the House of Commons on 18 October 2021.

    Our £407 billion covid support package has protected jobs and livelihoods through the worst of the pandemic. With the UK economy rebounding, our plan for jobs is working, with the number of payrolled employees now above pre-pandemic levels and vacancies at record levels. Thanks to the formidable force of our jabs and jobs armies, and an expansion of the Government plan for jobs worth over £500 million, we are building back better—helping people to move into better paid work, progress, and increase their financial resilience. Our approach is boosting pay, prospects and prosperity for the long term.

    However, we recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The household support fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England and allocations to individual local authorities are set out below. The Barnett formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved Administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41 million for the Scottish Government, £25 million for the Welsh Government and £14 million for the Nl Executive), so the fund totals £500 million.

    The household support fund is available to councils in England from this month and will run over the winter to 31 March 2022. The funding will primarily be used to support households in need with food, energy and water costs, with flexibility to support with wider essentials. In cases of genuine emergency, where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need, the household support fund can also be used to support housing costs. At least 50% of the funding will be reserved for households with children and up to 50% is available for vulnerable households without children, including individuals. Local authorities have the flexibility to design their schemes to best suit local needs, within the parameters of the guidance.

    This new fund will bolster existing measures that we have introduced for low-income households, such as increasing the national living wage, expanding the £220 million holiday activities and food programme, doubling free childcare for eligible working parents and increasing the value of healthy start vouchers by over a third. The household support fund also sits alongside the support available through the warm home discount, the cold weather payment scheme and the almost £30 billion that Government are projected to spend in 2020-21 on housing benefit and the housing element of universal credit.

    The table for the household support fund indicative funding allocations per county councils/unitary authorities for the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, can be found at: Government launches £500m support for vulnerable households over winter – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

  • Sajid Javid – 2021 Comments on Health and Social Care Leadership

    Sajid Javid – 2021 Comments on Health and Social Care Leadership

    The comments made by Sajid Javid, the Health and Social Care Secretary, on 3 October 2021.

    I am determined to make sure the NHS and social care delivers for the people of this country for years to come and leadership is so important to that mission.

    We are committed to providing the resources health and social care needs but that must come with change for the better.

    This review will shine a light on the outstanding leaders in health and social care to drive efficiency and innovation. It will help make sure individuals and families get the care and treatment they need, wherever they are in the country, as we build back better.

  • Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on Government’s Social Care Plan

    Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on Government’s Social Care Plan

    The comments made by Liz Kendall, the Shadow Social Care Minister, on 24 July 2021.

    Two years since his promise to the nation on the steps of Downing Street, the British people are no closer to seeing Boris Johnson’s plan to ‘fix the crisis in social care’.

    After ten years of the Tories in power, Britain deserves better. Either the Prime Minister lied about having a plan to fix social care or he lied about not raising taxes.

    Every day the Government delays their plans for fixing the crisis in social care is another day that staff don’t get the pay and training they deserve, another day that thousands of people go without the basic help they need, to do things like get up, washed, dressed and fed, and another day that families are pushed to breaking point.

    Ministers must now put in place a ten-year plan for investment and reform that puts social care on a sustainable footing, and provides all older and disabled people with the dignity and security they deserve.

  • Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on Social Care

    Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on Social Care

    The comments made by Liz Kendall, the Shadow Minister for Social Care, on 20 July 2021.

    After more than a decade in power – and two years after the Prime Minister made a clear promise on the steps of Downing Street, we are still no closer to seeing a plan to ‘fix the crisis in social care.’

    Every day the Government delays their plans for fixing the crisis in social care is another day that staff don’t get the pay and training they deserve, another day that thousands of people go without the basic help they need, to do things like get up, washed, dressed and fed, and another day that families are pushed to breaking point. Ministers must now put in place a ten-year plan for investment and reform that puts social care on a sustainable footing, and provides all older and disabled people with the dignity and security they deserve.

  • Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on Social Care Reform

    Liz Kendall – 2021 Comments on Social Care Reform

    The comments made by Liz Kendall, the Shadow Minister for Social Care, on 22 June 2021.

    Since Boris Johnson first promised he had a plan to ‘fix the crisis in social care once and for all’ more than 23 months ago, 2 million people have had their requests for care turned down, care workers and families have been stretched to breaking point, and thousands of people have had to sell their homes to pay for their care.

    After a decade of failure, the time for Conservative excuses has long passed – Ministers must bring forward plans as a matter of urgency, and provide all older and disabled people with the dignity and security they deserve.