'Parties must commit to social care solutions'
Updated on 10 March 2010
Following Channel 4 News' pre-election debate on social care, Andrew Harrop of Age Concern and Help the Aged calls for politicians to commit to long term solutions for care reform and give voters a choice.
Today's care summit did exactly what it set out to do. It provided all three main political parties the neutral platform that was needed to re-open dialogue about reforming the current care and support system.
Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP and Shadow Secretaries Andrew Lansely MP and Normal Lamb MP were all given the opportunity to outline their proposals on reforming care and also participated in a debate with older people, care users and experts about how the care system should be funded.
It is clear from today's debate that the parties largely agree on the problems facing the current care system, with everyone accepting that there is chronic under-funding and need for urgent reform.
There is also agreement about some of the key building blocks for reform, including much better joint work with the NHS.
However, the parties continue to be bitterly divided on whether there should be new compulsory payments to fund care in later life. All the options being discussed require more public money, in one way or another and politicians need to say where it will come from. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Following the recent political spotlight on care, our new poll revealed the true extent to which care reform has risen up the political agenda.
It shows eight out of ten adults believe care is among the most important issues in the coming election. Fifteen per cent of people say it is the single most pressing question for the election, with this number rising to one third among people over the age of 65.
Findings also highlight that care in old age is an important issue to all age groups, not just those already in later life.
Almost a fifth of over 55s believe care is the most important issue for politicians to improve the lives of people over 65 and nine out of ten adults think that the political parties should work together to reach an agreement on care reform.
We need good quality of care, with dignity, for everyone. Politicians know from their postbags that we also need care that is more affordable at the point people need it, no matter how rich you are.
As a society we need ways to share the risk of needing care in later life. Long term ill-health is a lottery that no person plans for.
In our view, none of the parties have yet set out credible proposals for comprehensive reform of the current care and support system. In particular, they all need to say how they will improve the quality and availability of services.
We urge them all to set out their plans in full before the next general election to give voters a choice. Politicians owe it to all of us to put aside their political differences, maintain the momentum behind care reform and come up with long-term solutions to serve older people now and generations to come.
