Disabled voters unimpressed with politicians over social care

Disabled voters are unimpressed with the way all political parties have addressed their concerns over social care and other issues.

Almost nine in ten said they felt their views were not being heard by politicians, in a survey of 431 disabled voters by polling agency ComRes and disability charity Scope.

The poll showed social care was one of the top priorities for disabled voters with 35% including it among their biggest concerns. Respondents also rated benefits and the NHS as highly important.

Richard Hawkes, chief executive at Scope, said: “As disabled people are more reliant on public services than the rest of the population, it is hardly surprising that benefits, health and social care services are key issues for them. We know there are deep concerns among disabled people that the services they rely on most will be seen as easy targets for cuts.”

All parties are committed to some reform of social care.

Both Labour and the Lib Dems would set up a commission in the next Parliament to examine how social care should be funded. Labour would also introduce free personal care for people at home with the highest needs and those who had already been in residential care for two years.

The Lib Dems would provide all full-time carers with a week’s worth of breaks each year, while the Conservatives want to introduce a voluntary insurance system through which people could waive all residential care costs by paying £8,000 on retirement.

None of the parties has promised to protect adult social care from funding cuts, something the Tories and Labour have pledged to do for other service areas, notably the NHS.

Both Labour and Conservatives aim to move people off incapacity benefit on to jobseeker’s allowance through the work capability assessment, but plan to review the working of the assessment itself.

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