30.03.15
MPs back call for protecting adult social care funding
Three-quarters of MPs from across the political spectrum believe that adult social care funding from the government in the next Parliament should be protected in the same way as NHS funding.
A survey for the Local Government Association (LGA) by ComRes found that 35% of MPs ‘strongly agreed’ on this topic and two-fifths say they ‘tend to agree’.
Only 4% of MPs ‘strongly disagreed’, whilst 15% ‘tended to disagree’.
Northern MPs were most likely to support the protection of adult social care funding (90%), but more than 60% of MPs in the south also agreed.
LGA chair Cllr David Sparks said: “Councils, care workers, health professionals and now even MPs agree that social care funding must be protected in the same way as the NHS. There can be no excuse for the next government to ignore this.”
A separate ComRes survey of incumbent MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs) seen as being likely to win their seats in May showed that 76% agreed that in the next Parliament, adult social care funding from government should be protected in the same way as NHS funding. No future MPs strongly disagreed.
The LGA is urging the next government to make protecting adult social care funding one of its first priorities.
“It's not enough for consecutive governments to keep papering over the cracks with short-term fixes,” said Cllr Sparks. “We urgently need a longer term solution that puts social care on a sustainable footing. Failure to do so will deprive our elderly of the care they deserve, create additional pressure on the NHS and push other local services over the edge.”
ComRes interviewed 150 MPs and 101 PPCs likely to be MPs after the 2015 general election online and by self-completion paper questionnaire, between 28 January and 3 March 2015.
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]