LibDems attack Government on Social Services

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 28th May 2004

At their executive meeting on 27 May, Wrekin & Telford LibDems called on the government to simplify the existing complex and confused procedures for accessing social care, and provide an integrated "one-stop" care service for all applicants.

In particular, charges should be abolished for those in long-term care, as recommended by the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care, and already implemented in Scotland. The arbitrary separation between health and other local services should be ended, by transferring the commissioning role of Primary Care Trusts to elected Local Government at the same tier as social services. The government's 'bed-blocking' fines should be abolished, and the funds set aside for it should go to local authorities to pay for much needed capacity improvement in community, intermediate and long-term care.

Cllr Pat Fairclough, the present Mayor of Wellington, commented, "Carers Allowance should be increased to properly reflect the personal and financial cost of care, initially by extending the Carers Premium to all carers in receipt of the basic state pension. There are many people over the age of 65 who struggle to look after elderly partners or relatives, and get no compensation for what is an increasingly difficult task for them to sustain."

The present level of funding for the social services is generally inadequate, and much could be done to eliminate duplication and bureaucracy, such as a comprehensive, independent review into healthcare resources on the lines of the Wanless Inquiry.

Note:The first Wanless Inquiry Securing our future health: taking a long-term view, published in 2002, assessed the resources needed to deliver high quality, comprehensive NHS services over the next 20 years. It looked at three different scenarios based on different levels of engagement by the public in relation to their health