A cross party group of 98 MPs including 21 select committee
chairs and 30 former ministers from both sides of the Commons,
has written to the Prime Minister calling on her to set up a
Parliamentary Commission on Health and Social Care.
The Commission, in effect a special select committee of both
Houses of Parliament, could take an independent, cross Party
approach to an issue of national importance and help to break the
political deadlock that has prevented a realistic approach to
increasing resources for health and social care. Modelled on the
Banking Commission that was set up in the wake of the Libor
scandal, a Parliamentary Commission on Health and Social Care
could draw on cross Party and outside expertise, engage with the
public, and report back more swiftly than a Royal
Commission. It could examine current demand and funding
needs but also take a long term view, including the value of
improving prevention in order to improve wellbeing and reduce
future costs.
The letter reflects parliamentarians’ growing determination to
take a whole-system approach to the pressures which have left the
NHS, social care and public health struggling to cope with
demand. Writing that their constituents cannot afford another
policy failure on social care or health, MPs propose that the
Commission report by Easter 2019.
Working across party lines, the letter was coordinated by select
committee chairs , and , and former ministers and as well as the former permanent
secretary to the Treasury, of Earl’s Court.
, MP for Totnes and chair of
the Health & Social Care and Liaison Committees
said:
“We call on the government to act with urgency and to take a
whole system approach to the funding of the NHS, social care and
public health. On behalf of all those who rely on services, we
need to break down the political barriers and to agree a way
forward. We are calling on the Prime Minister to set up a cross
Party Parliamentary Commission of both Houses of Parliament. We
believe this is the best way to examine what funding is needed
both now and into the long term and to seek a consensus on
the options for sharing the costs. This year we mark the 70th
anniversary of our NHS and we believe that the public want their
vital health and care services to be given the funding needed to
meet rising demand.”
Former Shadow Minister for Care and Older People and MP
for Leicester West, , said
“Time and time again we’ve seen how any Party that comes up with
a substantial proposal for funding social care risks being
obliterated by their political opponents. But in the end the only
people who really suffer are older and disabled people and their
families.
“The public knows we will have to pay more for the NHS and social
care, and the strength of feeling in the country is reflected by
the breadth of commitment to tackling this issue in
Parliament.
“The Prime Minister should seize this opportunity, have the
courage to set up a Parliamentary Commission, and provide the
leadership our care services desperately need.”
, MP for North Norfolk, Minister
for Care and Support in the Coalition Government and chair of the
Science and Technology select committee said:
“Politicians and the public are not prepared to tolerate the
steady deterioration of the NHS and social care, which is
increasingly putting access to healthcare and patient safety at
risk. We need a fundamental review of health and care funding in
order to safeguard the quality of these services in the
longer-term and to finally deliver equal access to treatment for
those who suffer from mental ill-health. This will inevitably
involve difficult choices which no political party has been
prepared to make.
“The Government should grasp the opportunity to act in the
national interest by setting up a Parliamentary Commission to
confront these challenges on a collaborative basis. I am keen
that the proposed commission should explore the case for a
hypothecated NHS and Care Tax or Contribution. If we combined
this with a periodic independent assessment of how much cash the
system needs, then I think we could build public confidence and
achieve sustainable funding of the NHS and the care system.”
