Giles Watling, MP for Clacton, has attended a drop-in event at Parliament to discuss social care.
At the event on 24th April, Giles met with members of the public to learn about the ground-breaking evidence from Independent Age on the benefits of introducing free personal care in England. Free personal care is already available in Scotland. Introducing free personal care in England would be extremely popular. A recent YouGov poll found that 74% of adults in England aged 18-64 want free personal care for all older people, and 69% would be willing to contribute more to fund it.
Independent Age were also promoting their interactive tool, which allows you to choose from any combination of the different options to pay for free personal care. You can access the tool here: https://www.independentage.org/interactive-care
George McNamara, Director of Policy and Influencing at Independent Age, said:
“Many older people in Clacton are worried about how to fund their future care. Our social care system needs urgent reform.
Having a local champion in Parliament will help to ensure that this important issue is high on the political agenda.”
Giles said:
“I was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the social care system with older people and hear their stories, and ideas on how it can be improved.
“I was also impressed by the evidence presented by Independent Age on the economic and personal benefits of introducing free personal care. Average care costs in the Essex region are £676 a week, and there are 29,015 people over 65 in Clacton.
“Independent Age has made a powerful case on how free personal care could benefit my constituents and ensure that some of the most vulnerable people don’t have to worry about the financial costs of their care in the future. This policy must be considered as part of the government’s consultation on adult social care and I will raise this with the Minister at the next opportunity.”