Vulnerable 'let down when in most need'

JIM McMahon MP in the House of Commons

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OLDHAM West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has criticised the government for letting down older residents by failing to address the funding of social care costs.

Speaking in a Parliamentary debate on local government finance, the Labour MP described the policy of allowing local authorities to raise council tax to pay for the costs of adult social care as "not sustainable."

Mr McMahon, who is also shadow minister for local government and devolution, said: "If we don't really grapple with this and find a different way to fund social care and health, I'm afraid we will continue to have this debate every month, every year - and every time we do that, more people will be let down.

"I believe in a decent society that our older people deserve better than that, better than contributing all their lives and working hard, only to be let down when they need it most."

He added that over the course of 10 session in Parliament debating local government finance, members had discussed the crisis in social care, and closures to libraries and youth centres.

He said: "We have heard plenty of representations from members on both sides about the chronic state of local authority funding and reflections from the provisional statement that very little has moved on to provide councils with the funding they need to provide the type of services that our communities very much rely on."

The Labour MP added: "We are hoping when we hear further details of the financial settlement that there will be new money.

Focused

"I suspect that it won't be focused on adult social care as we hope - far more likely it will be used to offset the changes in the business rate revaluation, which has sent a shockwave through the business system because, let's be honest, the business rate scheme as it stands is not fit for purpose."

Mr McMahon's views have also been echoed by Oldham Council leader Jean Stretton, who this week used her blog to discuss the council's budget and hit out at the government for not treating social care funding as a national issue.

On Monday, Oldham Council's cabinet recommended that council tax should be increased by 3.99 per cent, with 2 per cent of the increase used to fund social care costs. Councillors will vote on the rise and the final 2017/18 budget during full council next week.

In the blog post, entitled "Vulnerable people will pay the price for government underfunding of adult social care", Councillor Stretton re-iterated the warning of the Local Government Association that "severe underfunding is putting councils in peril of not being able to provide the help that older and disabled people need."

Vulnerable

She said: "We've been forced to plug their adult social care funding shortfall by imposing a tax on our residents based on local property values, rather than on the basis of need.

"Unless the government address this inequity sooner rather than later, ultimately this will lead to the level of service people get being decided by where they live.

"Postcode lotteries should never be how our society looks after its most-vulnerable people ­- that's simply unacceptable."