Member News
4th April 2011
On the day the APPG for ageing and older people publishes its submission to the Dilnot Commission, officers of the group, MPs Penny Mordaunt, Greg Mulholland, Malcolm Wicks and Stephen Lloyd outline their thoughts on the future of care.
We are very pleased to be publishing our response to the Dilnot Commission's call for evidence on the funding of the care and support system. This submission was put together following the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for ageing and older people's meeting in December 2010 to discuss the work of the Commission, and our key recommendations for it.
We believe that the Commission presents the opportunity to produce the care system we want and need. The Commission is starting from a low base in terms of the current state of care provision, with services deteriorating very rapidly. In the future there needs to be a focus on more preventative care, rather than solely on critical care, and we feel the public health agenda presents opportunities to promote this.
Regarding funding, one of the key recommendations that came out of our discussion in December was the need for creative thinking to be given to developing financial products which can help support people to pay for their care. We feel a 'revolution' needs to take place in what's on offer. Products enabling asset liquidation, equity release and insurance should all be considered, and thought should be given to pensions or occupational pension schemes being designed to be not just for pension purposes, but for long-term care as well.
More generally, awareness of the various options that are already available must be promoted, so that people are able to plan.
We agree that an insurance model involving risk-pooling is the most promising way of funding the future system, and that a partnership needs to be struck between the individual and the state. Ultimately, we feel that no-one should be excluded from access to basic care services for lack of means.
With 2,440,000 older people in England with care needs, of whom just over one million receive social care, it is vital for all people in later life that we get the social care system right now, and we accept that, with an ageing demographic, we will need to pay more for care services in the future.
You can view the APPG's submission to the Dilnot Commission here.
The APPG for ageing and older people is a cross party parliamentary group that exists to debate issues of importance to people in later life, to review parliamentary proposals relating to ageing and to involve older people in parliament in a way that helps them to influence the political agenda. Age UK has provided the secretariat to the APPG for several years. The APPG meets regularly and more information on the group and details of future meetings are available here.
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