Opposition MPs urge Government to avoid any more delays over social care White Paper

July 16th is the date set for the launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Local Government’s report on the future of social care, chaired by Conservative MP for South Derbyshire Heather Wheeler, which will contribute to the subsequent Government White Paper that care sector experts are hoping will result in long-awaited reforms to help the UK cope with the challenges of an ageing population.

The three key challenges set out by the APPG would seem to concur with those of the Dilnot Commission, whose report was published last year, defined as: 1. Enabling citizens to lead independent lives; 2.Enabling citizens to be financially independent; & 3. Acting as a market shaper.

Social care reform is perceived as an issue that successive governments have failed to address. Although setting up the Dilnot Commission was one of the first actions of the Coalition, the delay to the publication of the White Paper has not gone unnoticed by opposition MPs and neither has care reform’s absence from current spending plans.

APPG panel member and Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South commented: “Social Care is in crisis and it is crucial that the Government addresses both the long-term funding of social care and a funding gap that will grow to at least £2 Billion over the next year or so. The recent Budget was a missed opportunity for the Government to lay out how it was considering funding social care.

“Both Councils and organisations providing care and support have urged the Government to bring forward its Social Care White Paper. This was due last Autumn, following the proposals of the Dilnot Commission on the funding of social care. We are still waiting for the White Paper and for the Government’s proposals on future funding.”

Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour MP for Durham, also commented: “It is really unfortunate that almost two years into the Coalition Government so little progress has been made on finding a cross party agreed solution to the future funding, regulation and access to social care. However the setting up of the Social Care Commission by the Local Government All Party Group chaired by Heather Wheeler MP is a very positive step forward and hopefully the Government will listen to the findings of this commission when constructing the White Paper.”

Unlike the divisive and controversial Health and Social Care Bill, so far the political mood surrounding the White Paper on care reform has remained favourable to the notion of a political consensus. All parties have been vocal in welcoming the proposals of the Dilnot Commission and the Local Government Association has this week written to all three party leaders, stating: “We unanimously agreed that the proposals set out by the Andrew Dilnot’s Commission of Funding of Care and Support offer the only real solution to securing sustainable funding for care.”