Age UK’s statement in response to today’s speech by the Prime Minister on social care

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: “The Prime Minister made clear today that he is totally committed to fundamental social care reform and that can only be a good thing for older people. These are exciting times and we look forward to hearing a lot more after the summer break, if not before.”

“It’s right that the Prime Minister has asked Louise Casey to accelerate her independent commission so it reports in a year’s time and we hope the Big Conversation she launched today will help to draw out what the public want to see from social care, as well as thinking through the funding options. We won’t all necessarily have to pay more as individuals for a better system of social care but it’s likely we’ll have to pay differently: at present older people often face big bills when they are in crisis- for example after a fall. It would be much better if we followed the example of many other developed nations & paid in to a big pot in advance or after our deaths, so when we need care it’s there for us, however much or little money we actually have.” 

“The Prime Minister covered all the main elements of social care in his speech and said something especially interesting about the social care workforce: namely that he wanted to see a shift towards equal pay with the NHS. This would undoubtedly take time to achieve but would be a game changer in terms of recruitment and staffing - a long-standing problem within social care.”

“We are optimistic about the prospect of positive change and call on politicians in all parties to demonstrate leadership on social care reform, because it’s what older people badly need.”