Independent Age, the older people’s charity, has today expressed
new concerns about the government’s commitment to the social care
green paper, following responses to Diana Johnson MP’s
Parliamentary Questions last Friday
(8th February).
In response to a question about how much has been spent on the
green paper in the nearly two years since it was announced,
MP replied the
information “could only be obtained at disproportionate cost”.
The charity says this raises concerns that the Department for
Health and Social Care doesn’t know how much it has spent on the
green paper so far, and reinforces concerns that the green paper
is not a priority for the government.
The Minister also revealed that the Department for Health and
Social Care has only had nine formal meetings with civil society
organisations, and that the current Secretary of State for Health
and Social Care has only visited three residential care settings,
in comparison to 22 hospitals. According to Independent Age, this
suggests a lack of commitment to social care, despite the
estimated 1.4 million older people who are currently struggling
with unmet care needs.
George McNamara, Director of Policy and Influencing at
Independent Age, commented, “We have now been waiting
708 days for these reforms and older people are bearing the
brunt. The green paper is fast becoming the CrossRail of the
health and social care sector, with repeated delays and
indeterminate costs.
“It’s astounding that the Department of Health and Social Care
doesn’t seem to know how much has already been spent on the
social care green paper. Not only that, but it seems that finding
out what people actually need is not a top priority. We need
radical reform of the system, and this should have included
engaging with a number of external stakeholders, including older
people themselves. The fact this has not happened is deeply
worrying.
“Frankly, this raises concerns about the quality of the green
paper, if indeed it ever appears.”
Independent Age is calling on the government to prevent any
further delays to the publication of the social care green paper,
and move as quickly as possible to consult the public so that
older people can finally get the care they need.
