Massive human suffering has been caused by successive governments betraying the people on social care, over the years.
‘Boring’, you might be thinking. But it’ll affect you one day, unless you’re rich. And it could hit one of your grandparents tomorrow.
Every government has made fervent promises, like Boris, on the steps of Number 10. But then they kick the problem into the long grass, leaving it to the next government to sort out.
Scrap Today (29th October 2021) the Daily Mail has a story, part of their END DEMENTIA CARE COST BETRAYAL campaign, headed: “Care levy ‘won’t be enough to help dementia families. Patients will still have to sell their homes,’ warn MPs”.
Boris Johnson promised some time ago to solve the social care crisis once and for all, and he unveiled plans to reform social care through a 1.25% increase in National Insurance, which will raise an extra £12 billion a year.
‘But the cross-party MP’s warned that just £2 billion of this will go towards social care…’ The rest would go to the NHS (£10 billion a year was needed for social care).
The Commons Health Committee said immediate help was needed for pensioners ‘before October 2023, when the new £86,000 cap on lifetime care costs is due to come into place.
“They criticised the two-year delay before this cap is introduced, warning that many families will face “catastrophic social care costs over the next two years”.
They said the system was ‘unfair, confusing, demeaning and frightening. … a huge financial and psychological burden’.
Scrap the present foreign aid set-up, which the Mail’s former legendary editor Paul Dacre used to call ‘madness’, because it gives billions mainly to corrupt foreign dictators for new planes and palaces.
This will free up over £14 billion a year. Social and dementia care needs £10 billion a year, so over £4 billion will be left to deal with foreign crises, including vaccinating children.
Hallelujah! There should be rejoicing throughout the land. But it will devastate ultra-liberal politicians who believe foreign aid gives them a place on the world stage (Wait for John Major to start jumping about in a rage!).
Its been a vanity project all along. Putting personal vanity and the wishes of mainly foreign dictators before social care for British dementia sufferers, and depriving the NHS of billions which could have avoided a hospital waiting list of over 5-9 million to over 7.1 million, and which could increase to 12 million – is obscene. It should be a criminal offence – something like misuse of public money – and the guilty politicians should be prosecuted.