Oral Answers to Questions

Debbie Abrahams Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. We share his view: we want to see greater choice in end-of-life care so that people are able to be cared for and die in the place they choose and which is appropriate to their needs, whether that is a hospice, a hospital or their own home. The recent Choice review set out a vision of enabling greater choice at the end of life. I am working with NHS England to see how this can be best achieved and the Government expect to comment on that soon.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

The Health Secretary recently received a letter from a range of social care organisations and charities panning the spending review offer, saying it

“is not sufficient to resolve the care funding crisis”

and warning of an

“increasing number of older people”

without sufficient support,

“increasing pressure on the NHS.”

Will the Health Secretary finally admit that the offer in the autumn statement is just not good enough?

[Alistair Burt]

That social care was an important part of the Chancellor’s spending review was noted by all. Up to £2 billion will be available through the social care precept—that will be added to council tax—and there is a further £1.5 billion available by 2020, so all in all £3.5 billion will be available by 2020. We all know resources for social care are tight; that is why we need best practice everywhere to make the best use of resources, which many leading authorities are already doing.