FOR NURSING AND RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES
W W W. T H E C A R E R U K . C O M
THECARERUK
THECARERUK
THECARER_UK
Issue 196
Lib Dems Pledge Free Personal Care for Elderly and Disabled... Election “Silence” on Social Care Finally Broken
Care sector representative bodies have welcomed plans by the Liberal Democrats to reform social care. Earlier this week Liberal Democrats confirmed that free personal care would be offered to older or disabled people at home, if they were the government. Leader Sir Ed Davey says this pledge, plus raising care workers’ pay, would end the hospital crisis and help people stay in their own homes. The policy’s cost is estimated at £2.7bn. The Liberal Democrats say it will be
funded by reversing tax cuts on big banks. The party also wants to introduce a carer’s minimum wage, at a rate £2 above the standard minimum wage, and create a Royal College of Care Workers. Announcing the policy, he said: ‘Far too often, family carers are being left to pick up the pieces because the care system simply isn’t there for them.”
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