Faisal Rashid, MP for Warrington South, has backed the Labour Party’s plans to introduce free personal care for older people who need social care as part of their vision for a National Care Service. Speaking in a Westminster Hall Debate on Tuesday 1st October, Faisal attacked the Government’s record on social care, noting that as of today, 1.4 million older people are currently going without the care they need.
Councils have had their budgets reduced by an average of nearly 50% since the Tories came to power in 2010. These cuts have seen £7.7 billion taken out of social care funding since 2010. Warrington Borough Council has had £137 million cut from its budget, with at least another £22 million of savings to find by 2020. Nationally, there are now 8,000 fewer care home beds than there were in 2015.
In Government, Labour plan to introduce free personal care for older people, providing help with daily tasks such as getting in and out of bed, bathing and washing, and preparing meals in their own homes and residential care. Other proposals announced by Labour include:
• Addressing the funding gap in social care;
• Supporting local authorities to directly provide, rather than outsource, care;
• Supporting the care workforce better, to ensure that older people receive support from trained staff who have the time and skills needed to provide care.
Currently, only people with low levels of savings receive publicly-funded personal care. People with dementia face the highest costs for care.
Labour’s plans will more than double the number of people receiving state-funded care and reduce the number of people facing catastrophic costs for their care. Free personal care will ensure people with dementia receive the same care as those with other conditions, reduce the burden on unpaid carers and benefit the NHS by reducing delayed transfers of care from hospital and admissions to care homes and hospitals.
As part of the National Care Service, Labour has pledged to raise standards of care by ending the use of zero-hour contracts, ensuring that carers are paid a real living wage, including for travel time; end 15-minute care visits; and improve access to training and development for care staff.
Faisal Rashid, MP for Warrington South, said:
“Making sure the sick and elderly are treated with care is the measure of any civilised society. I believe that we should not be judged by our personal wealth, but by our compassion for those in most need. But clearly this is not an ethos shared by our current Government.
“Social care is a policy area crippled by government inaction and market failure, causing immense hardship and misery for those who need care and those who provide it.
“As a former New Town, Warrington is seeing a significant increase in our vulnerable older population from those who were drawn to Warrington for work and a better life in the 1970s and 80s.
“It is high time our political leaders showed the courage necessary to rise to the challenge and fix this mess, ensure the safety and security of older generations and treat care workers with the respect they deserve.
“That is why I am proud that my party has recently announced bold, radical plans to do just that. Providing free, personal care to older people will ensure they will be able to live in their own homes for longer, providing them with dignity and the support to lead independent lives for as long as possible.
“It’s time to fix the crisis in social care and ensure everyone who needs it can live with dignity and support.”
Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Social Care, said:
“Nine years of cuts to local council budgets have pushed care services to the brink. For years, the Tories have failed to bring in much-needed reform, leaving too many people and their families struggling to afford the care they need.
“Tackling the crisis in social care is a priority for Labour. Our plans for social care will address the immediate crisis in care, double the number of people receiving publicly-funded care, and stop people with dementia being treated unfairly by the care system.
“It is vital that social care is a universally-available public service which provides dignity, security and compassionate care. Our National Care Service will have these principles at its core.”
