Social Care Funding (EAC Report)
Baroness Sanderson of Welton Excerpts(3 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Sanderson of Welton (Con)
My Lords, I also commend the members of the committee for their impressive report. We are fortunate to have such distinguished and experienced Members of the House of Lords focusing their attention on one of the most difficult and urgent problems of our time.
Despite that urgency, and as many others have said, this it is a problem that successive Governments have ultimately failed to confront, although I was struck by the comments from Care England, in the report, about the lack of progress over many years, despite all the different reviews and commissions,
“all of which seem to come to similar conclusions—the system needs to be properly funded.”
The committee has made its recommendations and they have been broadly welcomed. While I fully appreciate the difficulties of the past year caused by the pandemic, I hope the Minister will be able to give some indication as to when the Government will be able to respond to its recommendations.
I also appreciate that, for there to be a proper response to this issue, there needs to be the type of cross-party co-operation that the committee has so ably demonstrated. For there to be wider consensus, there needs to be a better understanding of the social care system. The committee quite rightly says that, for this to happen, the system needs to be less complex and easier to understand.
I am no expert in this area but I emphasise that, if we are to have a proper conversation, we need to stop treating social care as the NHS’s poor relation. As demonstrated by this debate, this is not a new concept by any means and was part of the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto, but the pandemic proved again that we have some way to go. The desire to protect the NHS was understandable, but we now know that policies designed to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed pushed a greater burden on to care homes. Yet again, social care was deemed the second-class citizen.
As my noble friend Lord Forsyth of Drumlean pointed out, by 2023-24, the NHS annual funding increase will be
“more than the entirety of local authority adult social care expenditure.”
This situation surely cannot continue, but if any good has come from the pandemic, it is a greater focus on and appreciation of the fundamental role that social care plays in protecting many of our most vulnerable.
Care England suggested in the report that there was
“a hesitancy by politicians to increase funding for a system that is not well understood by the public”.
Meanwhile, the Nuffield Trust pointed out that new proposals
“are often put forward as part of election campaigns at a point in the electoral cycle when there is minimal incentive for cross-party cooperation.”
As we reach a point of greater understanding and with some years until the next election, I sincerely hope that this is the time to find consensus and for Government to finally come forward with the solution that has evaded us for so long.
Mental Health Act Reform
Baroness Sanderson of Welton Excerpts(3 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness is right that community support for those with mental health challenges is critical—we are supporting community health in addition—but I slightly disagree that the £2.3 billion will make no difference. It is a phenomenal commitment and it demonstrates that the Government have recognised that mental health services have lagged behind primary care and physical services, as the noble Baroness rightly points out, and we are working hard to make up the difference.
Baroness Sanderson of Welton (Con) [V]
My Lords, I too welcome the White Paper and in particular one of its key aims, which is to address the disparities that exist in relation to those from black, Asian and minority-ethnic backgrounds. The data from the race disparity audit played an important role in revealing those disparities. Can my noble friend the Minister confirm that the Government will continue to utilise the work of the Race Disparity Unit as we continue on the path towards the first new mental health Bill in 30 years?
Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, I have met the Race Disparity Unit and can share my noble friend’s testimony to the critical work that it does. The statistical collections managed by NHS Digital have shone a light on the extent of the disparities illustrated by Sir Simon, most notably that black people are more than 10 times more likely to be made subject to a community treatment order after discharge from hospital. That is an astounding number. We are determined to take action; we will introduce a new patient and carer race equality framework which will support NHS mental health care providers to work with their local communities to improve the ways in which patients access and experience treatment. The Race Disparity Unit will continue to play a key role.
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020
Baroness Sanderson of Welton Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Sanderson of Welton (Con) [V]
My Lords, as previously acknowledged by my noble friend Lady Noakes, there is not yet definitive evidence of the efficacy of face masks. But if wearing them potentially helps protect others from the virus, that is something we should all want to do. However, we should not ignore the fact that mandating their use is a controversial policy, which at worst compromises individual liberty and at best is a considerable inconvenience which could discourage some people from going about their normal business, be that travelling on public transport, attending church or simply getting back to the shops. On that basis, will the Minister say whether any consideration has been given to when the Government might lift the mandatory wearing of face coverings in certain circumstances? For instance, will it be based on the Covid alert level reducing? If so, will they announce any change so that the wearing of face masks does not end up becoming a social norm by default?