Senior MPs call on Theresa May to put aside political differences and work to cut rising social care costs
Three Labour and Tory MPs who run powerful Commons committees joined forces to demand a “political consensus” for a long-term solution
SENIOR MPs have called on Theresa May to seek a cross party solution to solve Britain’s expensive social care headache.
Labour’s Meg Hillier and Clive Betts have joined forces with outspoken Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston to pledge to help the PM solve rising costs of caring for Britain’s elderly and housebound sick.
All three run powerful Commons committees and demand a “political consensus” for a long term solution.
In December Mrs May hinted that she was open to working across the political divide to solve the major issue of how the country will cope with an ageing population.
In a letter to No10 the three urge the PM to “invite all parties to become involved in a review, which should begin as soon as possible”.
They added: “Given the scale of rising demand, this immense challenge will face whichever Party is in government over the coming decades.”
The PM said in December that previous governments had “ducked” the issue of social care funding and said she was determined to ensure a sustainable system for the future.
She said that it would be “for everybody to contribute and to be part of that decision”.
Health think-tank The King’s Fund said the “threadbare” social care sector was facing a £2.4 billion funding gap.
Boss Chris Ham said planned increases in health funding were “not enough to maintain standards of care, meet rising levels of demand, and transform services”.
He added that a new settlement for health and social care is “long overdue” and lamented that “for too long there has been a lack of political leadership on these issues.”
Dr Mark Porter of the British Medical Association added: “Politicians from all sides must come together to agree a long-term solution to this crisis.
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“Failures within the social care system have a considerable knock-on effect on an already stretched and underfunded NHS.
“To look after patients well, doctors need social care to be well-funded and adequately staffed.
“The current crunch in health and social care is a direct result of years of inadequate funding and politicians of all parties failing to take a long-term view on what needs to happen.”