Better care & protection for those that need it

We want to help people get and keep jobs that can give them a decent standard of living, as well as ensuring that no-one already in work lives in poverty. We will reform Tax Credits to end the unpredictability of the system which has left millions of families struggling to make repayments for the Government's mistakes. The need for improvements to the social care infrastructure too have been thrown into sharp focus by the tragedy of Baby P and other appalling scandals.

Pensions

The current pension system is unfair; the basic state pension is too low and it discriminates against women and carers who take time out of work. 2.1million pensioners live in poverty in the UK today and 2 out of 3 of pensioners are forced to claim benefits to make ends meet. We will immediately restore the earnings link to the state pension so that pensioners share in the growing wealth of the nation

Liberal democrats will immediately restore the earnings link to the state pension as soon as government finances permit. We will also work to create a Citizen’s Pension within 2 parliaments that is set at a more generous level and based on residency not outdated National Insurance contributions which penalises women and carers disproportionately.

This will take over a third of pensioners off means testing, ensuring that private saving is worthwhile for everybody.

Elderly people with dementia.

Thousands of older people with dementia are living in care homes where the staff have no training in how to deal with the condition. The Government had said that their national dementia strategy would improve the quality of care in care homes, but unless funding follows, any strategy is ineffective.

There is also a lack of elderly mentally infirm nursing places across much of rural Britain, and about the spectacle of families and relatives having to travel vast distances to visit relatives who suffer from Alzheimer's.

Lib Dems have uncovered the fact that 169 care homes in England had recorded major failures in unannounced inspections - 28 of them on more than one occasion. Inspectors had found residents forced to wear coats because the homes were so cold. The research had found that follow-ups were not necessarily happening. There is a need for the Care Quality Commission to make some positive changes.

Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to review how care workers are treated by the points-based immigration system.

Lib Dems have worked out the detail of a proposed ‘Care Guarantee’, entitling elderly people to a personal care payment, based on need not ability to pay and setting out the entitlements both of people in need of care and of their carers.

Care workers

Skilled and experienced care workers, who the Government acknowledge there is a shortage of, are being prevented from taking up jobs in the UK, not for reasons related to their skill levels, but because the level of pay in the industry is so low it falls below a government threshold used for determining whether they fit the technical definition of skilled workers.

Liberal Democrat Party links: www.northwestleicestershirelibdems.org.uk :: www.libdems.org.uk ::: Go Back