Care Homes: England — [Mrs Anne Main in the Chair]

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 3:30 pm on 13 January 2016.

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Photo of Patricia Gibson Patricia Gibson Scottish National Party, North Ayrshire and Arran 3:30, 13 January 2016

I was simply going to ask the Minister to ensure that the scourge of low pay is tackled as far as possible under the Chancellor’s arrangements to ensure that the wage levels are at least enforced. As we have heard from the hon. Member for Redcar, that is not even currently the case.

It is clear that there are urgent concerns about care homes, which must be addressed. I look forward to the Minister’s taking the opportunity to do so. The urgency of the concerns are apparent as care home margins are squeezed by a lack of investment and a failure to deal with the funding of long-term care to an acceptable and sustainable level with local authorities facing even tighter budgets. We should recognise that care services are a vital component of the fabric of the NHS.

What happens in the care sector in England has a direct consequence for the care sector across the UK. Caring for our older population and caring for our carers is an issue of social justice. Of course there is a price tag and a cost for supporting older people, but politics is about choices and the challenges of our ageing population will only increase. We must make the choice to treat them with dignity, and to support carers and our older population as much as we can. We cannot afford not to.