Opposition Motion: Social care

Proposed by Barbara Keeley

I beg to move, That this House notes the serious concerns expressed about the social care system, including by the Local Government Association, The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Quality Commission; calls on the Government to urgently bring forward promised funding t… I beg to move, That this House notes the serious concerns expressed about the social care system, including by the Local Government Association, The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Quality Commission; calls on the Government to urgently bring forward promised funding to address the current funding crisis and to put in place a longer-term settlement to ensure that the social care system is sustainable going forward; and further calls on the Government to ensure that the most vulnerable in society are guaranteed the adequate and sustainable care they deserve. The Government amendment “commends the work and dedication of those in the social care sector”. I join the Government in that. It might be the only part of their amendment I support. It is right that we praise our care staff. Unison the union had a meeting here today with care staff from a London borough and from Leicestershire. They talked about the difficult financial situation facing care services. Some care providers are not paying a decent wage. I heard all about that from the care staff from the London borough. Care staff receive less than the national minimum wage. They are not paid for travel time and they are not paid the correct rate if they sleep over. We should value our care staff more highly, we should pay them properly, we should train them, and they should know that they do a valued job. I pay tribute to the care staff I met today. I hope that other hon. Members also attended that event and met the same care staff and that they read Unison’s report, which is called “Care in Crisis”. Social care is “in crisis” owing to a lack of funding. So says the Conservative leader of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, Councillor Izzi Seccombe, who says that “it is no exaggeration to say that our care and support system is in crisis.” Richard Humphries, of the King’s Fund, talks of “a deeper existential crisis of care”. The Care Quality Commission says that the sustainability of social care is seen as “approaching tipping point”. Ray James, of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, says that “the Government must face up to the reality that social care is in crisis now and provide immediate funding to stabilise the sector.” On the priority of providing extra funding for social care, NHS England chief executive, Simon Stevens, says that “there is a strong argument that were extra funding to be available…we should be arguing that it should be going to social care.” I could go on. Googling the words “social care funding crisis” returns 2 million results.

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