Health and Social Care

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Monday 13th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Andy Burnham]

Government Members are just embarrassing themselves. When they cannot answer a question, they try to raise another one or go on about Europe. It is just not good enough. The answer is—though the hon. Gentleman cannot admit it—that Andrew Dilnot said this Government had cut the NHS. It is there in black and white. That is what they have done, and they stood on a manifesto promising the opposite. I secured a budget to protect the NHS at the last election. I said that I could not give real-terms increases because that would be irresponsible; and as it turns out, nor can the hon. Gentleman. His party was writing cheques that it simply could not cash, and that is a fact.

The Care Bill does nothing for those hit by the coalition’s dementia taxes right now. Since this Government came to power, the average care user has paid £655 a year more for home care than when they came into office. Overall, that is around £6,800 a year. Dial-a-ride transport services have doubled in price over the same period, from an average of £1.92 to £4.12. Meals on wheels now cost an extra £235 a year, while people in Conservative areas pay more for each service on average than friends and family in Labour-controlled areas—on average, £15 a week or £780 a year more for home care. That is the record of this Government.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

rose—

[Andy Burnham]

I will give way one last time.

[Stephen Mosley]

The right hon. Gentleman has been speaking for more than 10 minutes and he has not once said what Labour would do. Will he come to what the Opposition propose we should do?

[Andy Burnham]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that I will come on to that, but I have a job to do in holding this shambles to account and that is exactly what I am doing.

Under this Government, people are paying more out of mum or dad’s bank account for care, which often does not come up to the standards that they want, because their council has been cut to the bone. What are they meant to make of a promised, far-off cap of £72,000, or £144,000 for a couple? The Government are giving a little with one hand, while with the other they are grabbing a fortune from people’s bank accounts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

We are now three years into the coalition Government and there is much that we can be proud of—health, welfare, police and education reforms; this has been one of the most radical Governments in a generation, but there is still much to do. It is not only about ensuring that our country is on the right economic track; the British people must know that the Government are on their side.

Recent local elections have shown that a sizeable minority are disaffected, disillusioned and dismayed by politicians and political parties, and the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition have been bombarded with advice, often from their own Back Benchers. Often—surprise, surprise—the advice from those Back Benchers seems to be that the only way we can re-engage the trust of the electorate is by taking over their pet project. My advice to my party leader is that there is no magic bullet to winning over the electorate. Voters are cynical and fed up of political spin. They will spot a phoney a mile off. My right hon. Friend should be himself, be natural and not pretend to be something he is not. He should be proud of what we have achieved.

Things can sometimes be difficult in a coalition. Compromises need to be made. Sometimes our friends in the Liberal Democrats have had to make compromises; sometimes Conservatives have had to do so. However, at long last, Britain is moving in the right direction again. I urge the Government to hold their nerve, do what they believe to be right and ignore the siren voices calling for a change of direction. Some in the Chamber shout loudly, but that does not mean they are right, or that they have the support of the majority of their colleagues.

The Government should stay calm, because the foundations of future prosperity have been laid in the past three years, but we must not be complacent. The measures announced in the Queen’s Speech are another step on the journey to national recovery. I am particularly pleased that the Queen’s Speech tackles head-on two tricky problems that were classified as too difficult to touch by the previous Government. Both problems—reform of social care and reform of pensions—involve helping people in their old age.

Twenty years ago, Britain had the best pensions provision in Europe. Our pensions savings were the envy of the world. Millions of workers were signed up to excellent final salary pension schemes. Schemes were in surplus, and workers could look forward to retirement with a good, inflation-proof income. All that changed in 1997. The scrapping of advance corporation tax relief blew a massive hole in the value of pension schemes. That measure cost more than £5 billion a year—it has now cost pension schemes more than £100 billion, and the average worker has lost around £100,000.

Labour’s raid on pensions was just one nail in the coffin of final salary pension schemes. People are living much longer, and the global recession, the turmoil in the eurozone and our massive deficit have not helped matters—they have resulted in historically low interest rates, meaning that pensioners get less income from their savings.

Reform is urgently needed, which is why I warmly welcome the inclusion of the pensions Bill in the Queen’s Speech and the introduction of the single-tier pension. To ensure that future pensions remain affordable, people will have to work a year or two longer, so the Bill will bring forward the increase in the state retirement age and introduce a five-yearly independent review to ensure that the state pension remains sustainable. The current pension system is complex and confusing. It is almost impossible for people to work out how much they will receive. Under the new single-tier pension, people will qualify for the full pension of £144 a week provided they have made 35 years of national insurance contributions. Millions of future pensioners will be removed from poverty, and people who have saved for retirement will be able to enjoy the full benefit of their savings.

The proposals will address the inequalities in the current pension system. The Bill will support women who have taken time out to raise a family, and support low earners. The national insurance contributions of the self-employed will count towards a pension for the first time. Future generations will also benefit from the option of a workplace pension, with a contribution from both their employer and the Government. The pensions Bill will provide a clear, straightforward and fair pension for all—one that is secure as we face the problem of an ageing population.

Another big worry for people as they get older is who will look after them in their old age. The cost of care can be astronomical. For many, the fear of running out of money or being forced to sell their home to pay care charges causes huge concern. It is only natural for people to want to leave something behind for their children and grandchildren, and only natural that, after a lifetime of working hard and paying taxes, people want and expect the Government to be there to help. I therefore warmly welcome the announcement of the social care Bill and the reforms to long-term care funding. A cap on social care costs will help to ensure that the elderly do not have to sell their homes to meet their care bills, and that old people do not feel that they are a burden on others as their lives draw to a close.

The Bill will make a great many other improvements to the social care system, such as standardised thresholds for determining whether individuals are eligible to support from a local authority. It will include a duty on councils to inform residents about care provision, and a new right for carers to receive more support. For too long, Governments have found the problems of social care too difficult to tackle, and consequently tried to ignore them. I am proud that this Government are tackling the problem head-on and proposing a long-term solution that will benefit millions.

I warmly welcome the Government’s programme outlined in the Queen’s Speech. We have begun the long and hard process of restoring our nation’s finances to order. We must now turn to strengthening our society. We have achieved a massive amount in the past two Sessions of this Parliament, but a great deal more needs to be done. This year’s Queen’s Speech is an excellent step in the right direction.