Labour slammed for ‘delaying’ as Social Care crisis worsens amid growi | Politics | News
In its ‘Change’ Manifesto in 2024, Labor promised to reform social care by establishing a National Care Service.
During the General Election campaign, Wes Streeting promised to honor the previous Government’s pledge to impose an £86,000 cap on the lifetime cost of personal care from October 2025.
A few weeks after taking office, while canceling the Winter Fuel Payment, Labor did the exact opposite.
The cap on lifetime costs has been abandoned permanently, and instead of establishing a National Care Service, Labor has proposed a Social Care Commission to ensure that no meaningful reforms to social care (if any) are made before the early 2030s.
Labor refuses to define what it means by the National Care Service; A parallel, strong social care agency along the lines of the NHS, or just a continuation of the current system with a few weak national rules and targets?
No one knows, including Baroness Casey, who runs the commission.
Every social care professional and charity privately agrees that the establishment of the Commission is a deliberate and cynical delaying tactic by the Government.
Wes Streeting has confirmed there will be no extra cash for social care before 2030/31. It has an incredibly long timetable and its Final Report is not expected to be delivered until the end of 2028, four years into this Parliament.
The commission is a tragic costume and a waste of taxpayers’ money. Charities are aligned with the Commission because they are overly reliant on Government contracts and grants and are afraid to be too critical.
Meanwhile, while Baroness Casey plays the long game, millions of older people live in humiliation and discomfort in their final years because they are unable to get the social care support they need to continue living in their own homes.
Silver Voices is not prepared to put up with this deception of the British public; That’s why we’re campaigning with a petition on the Government’s official website to abolish the Casey Commission and for the Government to move forward with the reforms promised in 2024 that are long overdue.
