Lib Dems Pledge Free Personal Care For Elderly And Disabled
The Liberal Democrats have said that free personal care would be offered to older or disabled people at home, if they were the government.
Leader Sir Ed Davey says this pledge, plus raising care workers’ pay, would end the hospital crisis and help people stay in their own homes.
The policy’s cost is estimated at £2.7bn. The Liberal Democrats say it will be funded by reversing tax cuts on big banks.
The party also wants to introduce a carer’s minimum wage, at a rate £2 above the standard minimum wage, and create a Royal College of Care Workers.
Announcing the policy, he said: ‘Far too often, family carers are being left to pick up the pieces because the care system simply isn’t there for them.
‘We cannot fix the crisis facing the NHS without fixing the crisis facing social care.’
Lucinda Allen, Senior Policy Officer at the Health Foundation, said:
‘We welcome the Liberal Democrats’ plans to tackle some of the urgent problems facing the social care sector, which has been undermined by decades of political neglect and underfunding. We await to see if other political parties follow suit and offer detail on their plans to address this longstanding policy failure. Under the current system, many older and disabled people go without care they need, staff pay and conditions are poor and reliance on unpaid carers is high.
‘While free personal care would not protect people with the highest care needs against catastrophic care costs, it offers basic support to everyone with the cost of some care services. Free personal care, if adequately funded and delivered, would be a huge improvement on the current threadbare safety net for people with care needs and their families.
‘It is also positive that the Lib Dems proposals include plans to increase wages and improve the professional status of care workers, but the scale of the challenge shouldn’t be under-estimated, with 1 in 10 posts in the sector currently vacant.
‘The next government must put in place meaningful reform to address the deep unfairness of the social care system. Reform and investment are needed to improve access to care, protect people against extreme care costs, boost staff pay and conditions, and better support unpaid carers. Inaction is not an option.’
Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of NCF commented:
“At last one of the political parties has finally broken the silence and acknowledged that social care is a fundamental election issue. The Liberal Democrats have made a clear statement about the importance of social care, and we welcome their understanding of the centrality of care to people’s quality of life, as well as to supporting an integrated health and care system. There is a very welcome focus in their announcements around addressing the pay, terms and conditions of the care workforce, and recognising the professional status of care workers.
Care is a hugely complex and skilled role, and there is a clear evidence base that demonstrates addressing these factors would support recruitment, retention, career development and pride in delivering this most vital of public services. The detail behind their plans for free personal care will be important to understand and the fundamental premise of any new system is that it enhances people’s ability to access high quality, sustainable social care at the time and place that they want it. In this regard, there is much to learn from partners across the UK and wider who have introduced free personal care.
“We now urgently need the other parties to step up and outline what they will do in relation to social care. Millions of voters are deeply affected by social care, directly or indirectly, and want to vote for a party that cares about their interests. An estimated half of the electorate either work in social care, draw upon care and support, are waiting for a care assessment or are an unpaid carer for someone so this really is an issue for millions of voters.”
