Charities react to second reading of Personal Care at Home bill

Health secretary Andy Burnham has made the second Parliamentary reading of Labour’s Personal Care at Home bill, which proposes providing free home care to all elderly people that require it. As was the case with the first reading, charities have questioned how the £670 cost of funding the care will be met, with Age Concern commenting that the care sector has been left ‘in the dark about its future funding’ and that ‘…people reliant on care services can only fear the worst. Their spokesperson added that: ‘Spending from the health budget should be re-prioritised to provide additional funding for the care system.’ The Alzheimer’s Society warned that people with dementia are still not receiving enough funding and commented ‘These measures will not completely fix a social care system that is failing hundreds of thousands of people with dementia.’ Concerns have also been raised by charities and politicians that the Government’s aim of enabling an extra 400,000 people to be cared for at home ignores the needs of those that will still need to live in care homes.