Posted in News on Mar 4th, 2010
The Law Commission has launched a consultation process to overhaul the laws governing the provision of social care by local authorities in England and Wales. At present, an authority’s duties are covered by 38 separate Acts of Parliament, some dating back to the 1940s. The Law Commission wants to pull these together into a single [...]
Posted in News on Feb 12th, 2010
In other news around the White Paper, the Guardian reports that the government is considering a compulsory levy of £20,000 to be charged to an individual’s estate after their death. The money raised would be put into the social care funding ‘pot’ for care home fees. Ministers are currently divided over the scheme, which some [...]
Posted in News on Feb 12th, 2010
As Labour prepares to release a White Paper on the new structure of social care in England, the government is coming under fire for its Personal Care at Home bill, which will form part of the new National Care Service. The bill, which promises to provide free home care for people aged over 65 and [...]
Posted in News on Jan 26th, 2010
The Guardian reports on the success of 146 schemes that aimed to reduce the NHS’s elderly care costs by promoting healthier living and dealing with problems at an early stage. The Partnerships for Older People Projects (POPPS) ran across 29 English councils between 2006 and 2009 and promoted joint working between social services and healthcare [...]
Posted in News on Dec 21st, 2009
The Guardian has published an article warning of the problems that the UK faces due to its ageing population. Following on from their recent London conference on older people and ageing Britain, the article describes a raft of potential issues, including:
By 2030 there will be over 2.9 million over-85s in Britain and by 2055 [...]
Posted in News on Aug 12th, 2009
On 5 August, the Guardian newspaper held a roundtable, sponsored by the Department of Health, to allow disabled people and the organisations that represent their rights to discuss the recently-published Green Paper on social care. Overall, the participants voiced their support for the introduction of a new social care service that is presented in [...]
Posted in News on Jul 31st, 2009
The Guardian has questioned why the option of ruling out funding social care through general taxation has been ruled out in the recent Green Paper on the future of social care in England. Their article points out that, during the research that preceded the Green Paper, many people were found to be in favour [...]
Posted in News on Jun 8th, 2009
The Guardian reports that the current complex system of giving someone power of attorney over your financial affairs is being reformed – and people are being urged to put arrangements in place before it’s too late. Appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) before health problems set in gives the peace of mind that [...]
Posted in News on Jun 8th, 2009
As part of its Ageing Britain [link to http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/series/ageing-britain] series, the Guardian has published an article on how to stay healthy and reduce the risk of contracting five age-related diseases: cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, osteoarthritis and diabetes. Tips include:
Stop smoking
Drink alcohol in moderation
Eat a healthy and balanced diet
Exercise regularly – but don’t overdo it
Maintain [...]
Posted in News on Mar 23rd, 2009
Today’s (23 March) Guardian sees columnist Jackie Ashley recognising the crucial part that grandparents play in many families and that goes unrecognised by the Government’s welfare policies. Ms Ashley describes how countless families in the UK rely on grandparents to look after their children while they go out to work, 90% of which are [...]
