Preserved Right to Income Support

Part of Orders of the Day — National Health Service and Community Care Bill – in the House of Commons at 7:30 pm on 13 March 1990.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Andrew Rowe Mr Andrew Rowe , Kent Mid 7:30, 13 March 1990

I will be astonished if the Government accept the new clause. With the best will in the world, there is no way of preventing charges rising universally to meet income support levels. It is perfectly clear that the supporters of the new clause have no desire to write a blank cheque. However, it will be impossible to avoid that consequence. If it happens, it will shrink other budgets which will be needed to care for the vulnerable. In the end, the effects will filter through the system so that the new community care system, which we are so anxious to see succeed, will be put at risk.

It would, however, be foolish and wrong to suggest that there is no problem. Therefore, what are we going to do about it? There are some strengths in the present position. The number of people in the category about which we are concerned is finite and known. After the Bill is passed there will be no increase in that number. The new customers under the new system will be covered by a contract that will not allow public services to renege on their responsibility to those people. We are concerned tonight with a number of people, many of whom did not have a serious contract except in so far as if they paid the bill, or it was paid, they would receive care. I can understand and applaud the desire of Health Ministers not to overload social service departments, which will already be heavily burdened, by giving them responsibility for that particular group of people.

In parenthesis, I must state that homes are at great danger at the moment. We must consider the stock of places that exist at the moment. It is all very well for the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) to refer to the private sector for making vast amounts of money. With the exception of a tiny handful of fortunate, skilled or highly selective proprietors, the exact reverse is the case. The hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) and others have said that many homes are vulnerable. As my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone (Miss Widdecombe) stressed, those homes have large debts to service. Proprietors have told me with great force that they a re very worried about how long the new local authority assessment procedures take to supply them with replacement customers if their customers die or move out of their homes. There may be too big a gap to fund and proprietors will be vulnerable.