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LGA - Coalition's Mid-Term Review

Responding to the Coalition's Mid-Term Review, Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the LGA, said:

"Any commitment to introduce a cap on what an individual would pay for residential care in their lifetime would be a positive step, but this is only one part of the solution. Without tackling the immediate and growing funding crisis we are facing in providing care to disabled and elderly people it does not go far enough.

"The money is there, Government just needs to be smarter about using it. The NHS last year made a surplus £1.6 billion on its budget, money that could be better spent now on providing preventative services to help elderly and disabled people live independently at home for longer.

"The growing demand for old age care and the considerable reduction to the amount of funding councils receive from Government hits right at the heart of the future of public services and councils' ability to deliver popular services like road maintenance, libraries and leisure centres.

"In Community Budgets we have already seen how a locally coordinated, cross-sector approach to troubled families has reduced costs and successfully tackled issues like truancy and anti-social behaviour. It's now time for Government to get on with the job of devolving greater responsibility to councils so we can look to replicate that approach elsewhere."

Author: LGA Media Office
Contact
: Cherie Willers, LGA Press Office, Telephone: 020 76643333

 


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