Further to the publication of the Government Green Paper on the reform of social care, ‘Shaping the future of care together’, the Government reports that the consultation process – otherwise known as the Big Care Debate – is going well. The aim was to spark a nationwide debate on the future of adult social care services and how they are funded. The large amount of publicity that the Green Paper has received in local and national media, as well as health and social care-specific publications and websites, has brought the issues at hand to the attention of the general public, who are taking the opportunity to air their views. Since the Big Care Debate was announced in June, its official website, www.careandsupport.gov.uk, has received over 3,000 responses to the ideas put forward in the Green Paper. A nationwide road show is also underway which is enabling members of the public to access information about the proposed changes, put their opinions across and ask questions. Road show events are running until mid October, with all dates available on the official website.
A key area of the debate so far is the benefits question, with many respondents stating their concern about the proposed abolition of disability-related benefits such as Attendance Allowance (AA). This issue has also drawn strong responses from a number of charities that campaign for the rights of disabled people, such as the RNIB which claims that many sight-impaired people will lose out if AA is replaced with a means-tested social care benefit, for which many are unlikely to qualify. Commenting on the website’s blog, the Government responds to this by stating its commitment to ensuring that disabled people end up receiving the same level of benefits under the new system as they do now. It goes on to say that a new system is needed for older adults to remove the inconsistency, confusion and unfairness that result from the existing, fragmented social care and disability benefit systems for the elderly.
posted by Cheselden Continuing Care at
10:29
