Blair backs Community Care’s campaign

Tony Blair today backed Community Care’s campaign which boosts the social care profession and calls for more resources to enable social care workers to deliver the vision set out in the health and social care White Paper.

Joan Humble, MP, asked the prime minister whether he was aware of the work of the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Stand up for Social Care campaign run by Community Care aiming to raise the profile of social care workers.

The campaign’s objective is to boost the profession by raising its profile and demanding that social care staff are given adequate resources to do their job properly.

Humble asked whether Blair would ensure there were adequate resources to enable social care workers to be equal partners in delivering on the health and social care agenda.

Blair said the point raised by Humble was “absolutely right”. He highlighted that local councils had been given £11.5 billion for adult social care, an £850 million increase on the previous year, but said Humble was correct to draw attention to the need to continue to develop the service for adult social care.

“And that is why the Our health, our care, our say White Paper is a very, very important part of doing that. I pay great tribute incidentally to the work the voluntary sector does in this area,” he added.

Humble and her Liberal Democrat counterpart Paul Burstow tabled an early day motion this week calling on the government to provide more resources for social care to make the adult white paper’s vision a reality.

Burstow told Community Care: “The gap between the vision and aspirations of social care and the reality on the ground is widening year by year.

“Because resources are so tight, social workers have to concentrate on the most in need at the expense of prevention.”