Ivan Lewis urged to press chancellor for more cash to help elderly

Social care must be a priority in this year’s comprehensive spending review, MPs told the government yesterday.

In a debate on home care for elderly people, Labour MP George Mudie told parliament it would be “disgraceful and too late” if extra funding for social care were to wait until the next spending review in 2010

He told care services minister Ivan Lewis the “British public need to be aware of how shoddily we are treating many of our elderly citizens”.

He added: “I say to the chancellor, through the minister, that not taking urgent steps to deal with the current problems in social care will deny so many of the elderly their independence, dignity and well-being. Whether this is affordable is a strange question in the fourth richest country in the world.”

Mudie was backed by Labour MP David Kidney, who said social care must be a “top priority” in this year’s review.

Lewis said his department was continuing to negotiate with the Treasury to secure a fair allocation but said it would be “a very tight settlement”.

He added: “We need a new settlement between state, citizen and family to reflect those changing demographics and rising expectations.”

More information
Comprehensive spending review 2007. Key points