The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee has welcomed a
Government decision to publish a standalone dementia strategy
this year however warns that extra investment in social care
services will not be enough. Today the Committee publishes the
Government Response to its Report, Supporting people with
dementia and their carers.
The Committee’s inquiry heard evidence
that currently 200,000 people with moderate and severe dementia
in England do not get any kind of funded or professional support.
The Report urged Ministers to accept the Committee’s earlier
recommendation for a £7 billion annual increase in funding for
social care by 2023-24 as a starting point.
Health and Social Care Committee Chair Rt Hon MP said:
“We welcome the pledge by the Government to produce a strategy
this year that will be focused solely on improving how we care
for those with dementia.
“However, we remain concerned that the funding and workforce
crisis in social care that affects so many of those with dementia
will not be resolved by the extra investment the Government has
committed to date. Too many families will still face catastrophic
care costs and too many local authorities will not be able to
sustain services at the levels most of us would consider
essential for our own loved ones - so unless it covers funding
shortfalls in particular, it is unlikely to make the changes
hoped for."
ENDS
Please see here for details of
the Government Response to all recommendations contained in the
Health and Social Care Committee’s report Supporting people with
dementia and their carerswhich was
published in October 2021.
