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More funding to provide better social care for the elderly

“This Association in Conference assembled urges Her Majesty’s Government to provide more Funding to Local Authorities to enable them to provide better social care for the elderly.”

SELNEC Association,

2017

Care for the elderly will collapse without more cash.  Unless there is more funding to plug a £2.6 billion gap in the cost of social care for pensioner’s councils will find it impossible to fulfil their legal duties under the new Care Act which was passed in 2014.  The intentions and spirit of the act are in grave danger of falling apart unless new funding is announced fast.

Despite the tremendous contribution our oldest have made over many years to our society as citizens, workers, parents and grandparents, when they in turn come to need some extra support many are effectively abandoned by a social care system that is demonstrably unable to cope.

Age UK found that 926,000 of those aged 80 or older in England have difficulty with at least one activity of daily living. Tasks like washing, eating, getting out of bed, and dressing and going to the toilet.  Some receive some limited help but not that fully meets their needs. Astonishingly this means that 1 in 3 of the entire over 80 population have elements of care needs unmet.

Behind these statistics are the people themselves, some have no family or have outlived their nearest relative. The list of difficulties can be a long one, and the physical and mental health and wellbeing of those in need can seriously suffer.

In this day and age older people should be allowed to live well, and the correct support can enable them to do this with dignity.
There is a silent disgrace going on behind closed doors and it needs to stop. More funding must be a priority for this Government. Local councils have had to endure severe budget cuts, and that directly equates to older peoples care being affected.

How long will it be before the crisis spirals completely out of control?   We have known for decades that we have an increasingly ageing population.  We also know that many of Britain’s care homes are not fit for purpose.

Britain continues to spend £13 billion on foreign aid while its own pensioners risk neglect and a lack of basic care needs being met.  It is a scandal that a country as rich as ours has let such a state of affairs come to pass.

We urge the Government to intervene, enough is enough and our members feel very strongly about this social health crisis.

Reply from: Rory Howard – Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Thank you for your letter to Jeremy Hunt about social care and older people.  I have been asked to reply.

I appreciate your concerns about funding for social care.

The Government recognises that there are real pressures in the care system, which is why it has taken steps to protect social care services.

On 8 March, the Government committed to provide an additional £2 billion of grant funding for social care in England over the next three years, with £1 billion available in 2017/8.

This means local authorities will have access to up to £9.25 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20, so they can increase social care spending in real terms each year for the next three years.  Since April 2016, councils have been able to introduce a Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by two percent above the existing threshold.  95 percent of councils made use of this precept, which raised £383 million in 2016/7.

This year, local authorities will be able to use the precept by up to three percent, and three percent the year after, but by no more than six percent over the next three years.  This could raise £200 million in additional funding for adult social care in 2017/18 and over 400 million in 2018/19.  In addition, social care funds are being made available to local Government through the Better Care Fund.  These funds become available in April, and will rise to £1.5 billion by 2019/20.

Nonetheless, ministers recognise that further reform is required to ensure the stem is prepared to meet the challenges of providing a balanced package that supports quality and dignified care, as well as financial sustainability, for future generations.

The Government set out its aim to improve social care in the Queens speech, and is committed to publishing a Green Paper in Summer 2018, setting out its proposals for reform.  In developing a Green paper, the Government will debate the many complex issues, and listen to the perspectives of experts and care users.  This work will be coordinated by the Cabinet Office.

Ministers have asked a range of independent experts in this area to provide their views, and want to engage closely with key stakeholders, people who use services and carers over coming months.  Once the Green Paper is published, it will be subject to a full public consultation, which I would encourage you to take part in.

The Government want a better care system that everyone can have confidence in, where people understand their responsibilities, can prepare for the future, and know that the care they receive will be to a high standard and help them maintain their independence and wellbeing.

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December Update

2020 is a year none of us will forget in a hurry but as it draws to a close we would like to update you with the current situation as far as Head Office is concerned. The office is now closed until after Christmas but Claire, our secretary, is working from home.

It has been a very strange year with no events, no clubs, no getting together. All our events had to be cancelled, and though we are no different to any other organisation it has been such a pity because this is what we are about friendship, education and fun. On the positive side we have worked hard getting out letters to as many members as we could with the help of club officials. They have been brilliant keeping in touch with their members through emails, ‘WhatsApp’ and phone calls they all deserve a star!

With the moving into different tiers it sometimes gets very confusing and loneliness has been talked about a lot on the television and the media but we hope through the clubs this has not affected our members too much. With the hope of a vaccine it might not be too long before we are back and enjoying our club life again and remember after December 21st the days start to get longer and Spring will be around the corner.

Here at Head Office Eleanor retired at the end of September, Eleanor had told us of her plans at the beginning of the year so we had plenty of notice but of course we could not have the retirement party she was entitled to. However, we are hoping she will come to conference next year and we can say farewell properly. We did send flowers on the day and Mary, our treasurer made her a collage of all our good wishes, and it was beautiful.

If you are looking at our website for the first time look at the list of clubs and see if we have one near you, they are friendly places to go to. Most meet once a week with speakers, demonstrations and outings. Each club is different and if there isn’t one in your area, why don’t you start one!  We honestly think our sort of club is just what the women of our country needs right now.  We are a non-political, non-religious and non- sectarian group that offers friendship and interest. Take a look at this website and see what we have to offer.

So Christmas is coming and what a difference to the one we probably envisaged, but remember ladies we might not be able to party as we have in the past but if we keep safe we can celebrate next year with family and friends. 

So on behalf of The Committee to all our members and whoever is looking at this website, we wish you all a Merry Christmas, keep well and let’s look forward to a better New Year.