Social Care Funding (EAC Report)

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Thursday 28th January 2021 Grand Committee

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I do not claim expertise, as some of the earlier contributors to this debate obviously have. But at my age I do declare an interest—and if I have an interest, then I have some share in the embarrassment that politicians of all parties should feel at the fact that the problem of the care of the elderly has been so unresolved and for so long.

Reference has been made to the Sutherland report. It is important to remember that it arose out of a manifesto commitment of the incoming 1997 Labour Government, promising a royal commission into long-term care for the elderly. It was launched by the late and much-missed Frank Dobson, who was then the Secretary of State for Health. In doing so, he said that the arrangements for the long-term care of the elderly were so unsatisfactory that they could not be allowed to continue much longer. That was in 1997.

Sir Stewart Sutherland, as he then was—later, of course, Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, and a Member of your Lordships’ House—was invited to conduct the royal commission, but his proposals were rejected by the Government as unrealistic and unaffordable. They were summed up in the expression now most frequently used as “free care for the elderly”. As has been mentioned, they were in fact implemented in Scotland, where it is fair to say that they have not been without criticism.

Let me fast forward, as we must, to the present. As has been said, in July 2019 the Prime Minister said he had a plan to give every elderly person “dignity and security”—remember those words. The Conservatives’ manifesto for the 2019 election claimed that they would build a cross-party consensus to answer the problem. Nothing has happened in respect of that. In January 2020, the Prime Minister yet again said that he had a plan; in June 2020, the Health Secretary said something similar. It is to the credit of the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, that he has not allowed this matter to rest.

I am struck by the conclusions in the report, a few of which I will refer to: on inadequate funding, increased demand, pressure on family members to fill the gaps, and the geographical disparity in provision across the country. These issues are not new but have been characteristics of this problem for as long as it has been recognised. It is not necessary to agree with every word of every sentence of this admirable report but let me point out this: the Labour Government failed, the coalition Government failed, and the present Government are failing, by way of procrastination.

I will leave your Lordships with this thought to finish. Think of the thousands of elderly men and women who have suffered indignity and insecurity since 1997. That is why I join the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, in saying that we should not feel embarrassed; we should feel ashamed.

Covid-19: Masks

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD) [V]]

My Lords, as we relax the lockdown, the Government have the opportunity to put forward a triad: wash your hands, keep your space, and wear a mask. In doing that, they will not only assist the relaxation, but continue to make clear to the public just how important it is to take the necessary precautions. When we come to precautions, I have a question for the Minister: supposing the wearing of face coverings had been essential—even compulsory—in all the care homes in this country, how much more successful would we have been in preventing the quite tragic number of deaths that have occurred there?

Covid-19: Social Care Services

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, on obtaining this debate and introducing it in such a comprehensive fashion. It seems to me that the Government continue to enjoy general support from the public, but there are three areas in particular where confidence is not as strong as it might be: personal protection equipment and its availability; the availability of testing; and, as this debate has eloquently demonstrated, most particularly perhaps care for the elderly. It seems to me that in these areas the Government are losing public confidence. That applies as much to their non-supporters as it does to their supporters. Thinking about how that has come about, it seems to me that it is because undertakings have frequently been given but have not proved capable of being fulfilled.

These and other issues already discussed by your Lordships seem to be ripe subjects for the inquiry that is to follow, already referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Alton. I make the point that we should be clear beyond any doubt whatever that we are not looking for a departmental inquiry here; we not even looking for a royal commission. The only possible inquiry should be one under the Inquiries Act 2005; it should be judge-led, and supported by such assessors as he or she may think appropriate. It should be an inquiry that has the power to compel the production of documents and to compel the attendance of witnesses—even perhaps of the Prime Minister himself. It must, finally, be an inquiry with an agreed timetable that is followed. I say that for this reason: this is no time for a Saville or a Chilcot.

Covid-19 Update

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

On prisons, which are clearly an area of grave concern, I reassure the Chamber that guidelines were published earlier today for the management of prison populations and the introduction of cohorting in order to divide those with the virus from the rest of the prison population. On the other questions, I reassure the House that we are alive to the desperate circumstances that some people find themselves in. The financial arrangements being put behind the handling of coronavirus will be generous, and we will not stop supporting those who we love and care for.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

My Lords, I would like to raise with the Minister the question of government language. The second last paragraph of the Statement begins, “We are in a war against an invisible killer”. I understand that a balance has to be struck in ensuring that the public understand the importance of what we are engaged in, but language of that kind can have the effect of causing panic. In particular, may we have an end to the unofficial and unattributed briefings taking place at weekends that give rise to melodramatic headlines, which can only damage public confidence?

[Lord Bethell]

In defence of both the Prime Minister and the Chief Medical Officer, I pay tribute in particular to the Chief Medical Officer and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser for the incredibly measured, considered and transparent way in which they have gone about communications. I bear testimony to the calm and thoughtful advice that has been given to us by the scientific community. We are seeking to share that advice as openly and transparently as we can by having daily briefings from Downing Street, at which both the CMO and GCSA are present.

Coronavirus

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

My Lords, not wishing to return to question of deep cleaning too many times, I just reassure the noble Lord that the published guidance is very clear. It says that this virus can be cleaned with conventional soaps and conventional detergents, of the kind already freely available and used by cleaning companies. There is nothing technically challenging about the cleaning of offices, homes or hands in the case of this virus. It is just about thoroughness. That guidance exists. If it would be helpful, I would be happy to share it with noble Lords in this Chamber.

It is not possible to discuss Nadine Dorries’s case in detail. On community contagion, which is the nub of the question, we have reached the stage where the origin of every positive case is not known. In other words, there are people who have picked up the virus for whom no simple explanation can be given for where they got it. Therefore, the CMO has stated clearly, including in briefings to noble Lords, that his opinion is that the virus is present in the community but, as I explained, that the levels of positive testing suggest that it is not very prevalent. The CMO in his briefing estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people had the virus earlier this week. Those are the kinds of proportions we are talking about at this time.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

With respect to the Minister’s answer on the management of intensive care facilities, is that management being done by health boards, regionally or centrally? In particular, is regard being given to it being done on a United Kingdom- wide basis? I have in mind that, if there is a problem in Newcastle, Edinburgh might be recruited to assist with that and vice versa. Is this being approached on a UK-wide basis or rather more narrowly?

[Lord Bethell]

I reassure the noble Lord that this is a whole-health family challenge. I thank all my colleagues, in every part of the NHS, PHE and all the arms-length bodies, who have been involved in the response. Yes, the guidance and direction are coming from the top, and the expertise is coming from the scientists who advise and guide us, but it has been up to individual managers at every level of the NHS to step up to this challenge. The response has been formidable, impressive and reassuring. I wanted to take a moment to bear testimony to that response.

Regarding the devolved nations, the four CMOs are working incredibly well together. It is reassuring to see how closely their response has been tied. It has been a whole-country, UK-wide response and there is a lot of consistency across the different nations.