Commenting on the news that the Government has missed its own deadline for a fifth time in failing to publish details of care system reforms for disabled adults and older people, the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said:

“It is inexcusable that while people with social care needs are no longer receiving the care they need because of a lack of resources, causing distress to individuals and their families and putting additional strain on the NHS, the Conservative Government has yet again shown how uncaring it is by kicking the can down the road.”

“The Conservatives are so distracted with Brexit, that one of their key policy promises at the last election – to fix the problems in social care – is being completely ignored.  The Government said it was going to first publish the social care green paper in the summer of 2017, but it has been put back again and again. The Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Members of Parliament in January of this year that he would publish by April 2019 and now he has again reneged on that promise.”

Councillor Sykes added: “The delay has had a real impact on older people. Shockingly Age UK claims that 50,000 older people have died whilst waiting for the promised support.”

“The Liberal Democrats have repeatedly called on the Government to publish its Green Paper as a first step to tackling the crisis in social care, and we stand ready and willing to face the challenges in social care.  We would transform the care older people receive and reduce the inequality in provision, and we would put a penny in the pound on income tax to directly invest in social care as a first step to address the funding crisis.  Our older people deserve nothing less.  How we treat them speaks volumes about the type of society we wish to live in!”