Reform of Social Care

Jack Dromey Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. That is precisely why we drafted the Health and Social Care Bill in the way we did. I hope that people will bear that in mind when debating the need for, and appropriateness of, this further regulatory measure. He made a perfectly valid point, and it is one reason we need to ensure engagement. It is not only a matter of whether the insurance and financial services industry would respond: along with stakeholders and the public, we need to understand what the public’s attitude would be were they to have greater clarity about potential care costs and if they were willing to engage with financial services products in meeting those care costs. If they were, significant benefits would be derived, not least through bringing additional resources to bear and through creating organisations with a direct incentive to undertake more prevention.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

Dilnot offers a new dawn but not for three years, and in the meantime the fabric of social care is coming apart at the seams because the Government have imposed a 28% cut on local government, leading to such councils as Birmingham cutting care all over England. Will the Secretary of State act now to ensure that in the meantime the elderly and the disabled get the support that they deserve and which any civilised society should provide?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman should be aware that the maximum reduction in local authorities’ spending power this year compared with last year is 8.8%. We removed the ring fence from Department of Health social care grants but we did not reduce the scale of those grants. In addition, he must remember that, as is not always recognised, the NHS is making specific provision to support social care. This financial year, £150 million will go to support reablement, and £648 million will be transferred, as I said, to support social care, which will also have health benefits. That will be spending power in the hands of local authorities to support adult social care.