WIREDGOV

Do you want to make a lasting impact on the lives of 850,000 people living with Dementia in the UK?  Do you want the chance to win £100,000 by developing a solution to support this growing challenge?

These are not opening lines that you would naturally associate with the work of a Local Authority but Essex County Council see things quite differently.

On the 19 January 2018 ECC is launching Challenge Dementia, the second in a series of Challenge Prizes developed to identify solutions to some of the most complex problems facing its residents.

Challenge Dementia is a nationwide search for innovative & creative ideas that can support people to live well with Dementia.  The prize team, supported by the Centre for Challenge Prizes at Nesta, are particularly interested in engaging the ‘Unusual Suspects’ and encouraging people to apply who can view the problem through a different lens.

Individuals living with Dementia find it difficult to remain connected to the people & places around them. Challenge Dementia is a real opportunity to do something different, to create new & innovative ideas to enable people living with Dementia to live a purposeful life for as long as possible.

As of 8 January 2018, victims of domestic violence will get more support in taking abusive former partners to court.

Changes to evidence requirements in private family law disputes have come into effect.  There will no longer be a time limit on abuse evidence, which previously stood at 5 years.

Research finds that 73% of landlords still lack confidence in renting to tenants on the Universal Credit due to uncertainty that they will be able to recover rent arrears.

The RLA is making a number of proposals which would improve the delivery of Universal Credit for both tenants & landlords.  These include ensuring private landlords are routinely informed when a tenant moves from the older benefit system to Universal Credit to help them to establish suitable rent payment schedules with tenants.

EU Member States ‘invited’ to provide the financial resources the EU needs to respond to new urgent challenges such as defence, security, social policies & migration.

A national campaign will be delivered through partnerships via the media & hundreds of events organised by Citizens Advice taking place across the UK.

The overall aim is to help householders take practical steps to cut their energy bills by encouraging them to check they are on the best deal and to save energy by taking control of their heating & electricity and using the smart technologies available.

A touring photographic exhibition which portrays the signs of slavery & exploitation has been launched in London.

techUK CES 2018: AI, 3D audio and language innovations from the University of Southampton’s Future Worlds incubator will be exhibited at CES 2018 for a third year running

Entrepreneurs from the University’s Future Worlds incubator will give live demonstrations of 3 featured products:

*an immersive 3D audio soundbar

*an artificial intelligence (AI) powered video & platform

Is it the Government or individuals who need to take ‘responsibility’?

To a great extent ‘Health News’ headlines are just a ‘cut & paste’ exercise for the media every winter with ‘demands’ for ever more funds from the government, which ignore the basic fact that; ‘The government doesn’t have any money’!

There is no ‘money tree’ to provide ‘free money’ and it mainly comes from 3 sources;

*Taxes on individuals

*Taxes on businesses

*Borrowing - currently at around £60bn p.a.

It is easy to say that the ‘well off’ should pay more, but increasingly that has become to mean people who ‘saved’ during their lives rather than ‘spent as they earned’ not only contribute through taxes and pay for their own social care, but also subsidise state funded social care of others.

Calls for a Royal Commission to solve NHS and Social care funding issues tend to ignore the issue of personal responsibility.  Why should the state ‘reward’ those who are ‘profligate’ and ‘punish’ those who ‘prepare for a rainy day’?  Perhaps we should consider a nursery tale and remember that the ‘good times’ rarely continue for ever!
The Ants and the Grasshopper - DLTK-Teach ~ Is the answer to raise taxes on everyone during their working life? ~ Demos:  New research finds Brits believe citizens, not state, should pay for retirement

Why shouldn’t we start ‘fining’ those people who choose do drink too much and end up in A&E, thus ‘clogging up the system’ (especially over the Xmas / New Year period) and preventing/delaying care for those that are there because they are ill rather than by a personal choice to drink too much?
A&E visits for alcohol poisoning 'double in six years' - BBC News

Perhaps we should adopt the system for A&E treatment that applies in the Republic of Ireland.  There, if you attend the out-patients department or emergency department (A+E) of a public hospital without being referred by your GP or family doctor, you may be charged a standard fee.  There is no charge if you are referred by your GP. You must show the referral letter from your GP when you attend the out-patients department or emergency department (A+E).  Since January 1 2009, this charge is €100.
Hospital charges - Ireland's Health Service

There will always be some unfortunate people who (through no fault of their own) need free/subsidised health & social care, but should being ‘grossly obese’ be a ‘ticket’ to a lifetime of benefits while many with mental health issues are left to ‘struggle’ on without essential help & support due to lack of funding?  

Eating too much is often a simple personal choice that can be solved (for free) over time by an individual, while coping with say post-natal depression, is something that is not ‘self-inflicted’ and requires timely care from professionals.

The news is also currently full of headlines regarding ‘bad teeth’ of young children and how the government / LAs should ‘do something’ about the situation.  While it makes sense to direct some/all of the expected Sugar tax revenue towards meeting the nearly £40m p.a. cost of Hospital dental care & related public health education programmes, we shouldn’t forget the ‘responsibilities of the parents.

Dental care starts with parents taking responsibility for ensuring THEIR children are taught how to brush their teeth as pre-school toddlers and that their in-take of sugary drinks etc. is limited.  The ‘rot sets in’ (literally) before they go to school, so it is the parents’ responsibility to take their children to the dentists – not the Government’s.  A 2-minute Google search provides basic information.
LGA - More than 160 operations a day to remove rotting teeth in children ~ Smiles all 'round: children’s oral health improving in Wales ~ Children's teeth - Live Well - NHS Choices

Simplistic statements perhaps, but so are the annual calls for ever more funding which often ignore previous reports/reviews that have recommended changes to the way Health and Social Care are provided.
This is NOT just a case of inadequate resources ~ Is the NHS too big to change the way it works? ~ Spending on health and social care over the next 50 years | The King's Fund

If the government just borrows more money it may alleviate current funding ‘demands’ but it won’t solve the underlying issues behind this problem;

*Social Care & Health must be integrated

*Best Practice must be applied to provide Value for Money

*Personal responsibility must be ‘developed’ in the fields of Personal Behaviour, ‘Financial Preparedness’ and responsibility for young family members.