Concerns continue to rise in Westminster that Brexit is overshadowing the urgent action needed to tackle the social care crisis.
Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, of the health committee, the Labour MP Meg Hillier, of the public accounts committee, and Clive Betts, also a Labour MP, have written to Theresa May outlining their fears that pressing social care issues are being set aside for Brexit. The letter reads “We are calling for a new political consensus to take this forward. This needs to be done swiftly so that agreement can be reflected in the next spending round”. They ask for a review to start as soon as possible and to involve all major parties.
Jon Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said in the Economist:-
“Brexit is going to overwhelm every government department and we won’t be able to get on with anything else. The intellectual energy will go into Brexit, the most ambitious civil servants will want to be in the Brexit departments; it will just be the focus of everything.”
A government spokeswoman said:-
“We recognise the pressures of an ageing population, which is why we recently announced almost £900m of additional funding for adult social care over the next two years. But, as the prime minister has made clear, this is not solely about money. That is why we are working to find a long-term, sustainable solution which helps local authorities learn from each other to raise standards across the whole system.”
