By Matt Rodda MP
Everyone should have the right to grow old with dignity; with the care and support they need, at the time they need it and in a social care system that meets their needs without causing financial hardship.
The current social care system, long overdue of reform, is riddled with problems and inequalities.
The most vulnerable in our society are cared for via a mish-mash of contracts, overseen by local councils, where the ‘successful’ bidder typically offer their services for the least amount of money.
It’s a system where services and support can be radically different dependent on your postcode, and where available funding is determined by how much council tax is collected in your local area with little to no regard for what each person needs.
Compare that to the NHS – care given when needed, to a high standard, by a central system funded from general taxation by the Government.
Successive Governments have tried to grapple this issue only to realise that any real solution is quite hard and therefore the whole issue gets put back on the shelf and ignored for a few more years.
From the Dilnott Commission of the coalition Government of 2010, the 2016 Social Care precept through to Theresa May’s 2017 proposals which quickly became known as “the dementia tax” and, say some commentators, cost her the 2017 General Election, ideas and have been and gone and all we have seen is tinkering at the edges of a system in crisis.
If the Government plans to raise taxes to generate the necessary funding to improve social care, the issue isn’t how much cash is needed but instead what is it going to be spent on to make the system better – and not just for those receiving care but also for carers.
Any new social care system must recognise the value and importance of carers – these are the people in who we place our trust to look after our older and vulnerable people. They are deserving of far more than the statutory minimum wage.
The changes must address the grossly unfair systems which means ‘sleep ins’ – where a carer stays overnight to provide support – are not deemed as work hours so can be paid as little as a couple of quid an hour.
Likewise, the scandal of care workers not being paid for the time they take to travel between their patients.
If the Government wishes to increase tax to pay for an improved social care system, the motivation shouldn’t solely be to protect the assets and wealth accrued over
a lifetime in affluent parts of Britain, but should be to properly resource a system where carers are valued and where care isn’t a race to the bottom in terms of cost, and where whether you are in Reading, Redbridge or Redcar, you can expect the same support when it is needed.
Matt Rodda is the MP for Reading East, which includes parts of Woodley and Earley
