Autumn Statement from Jeremy Hunt - our response

Our Chief Executive Stephen Hammersley shares his thoughts on the Autumn Statement with regard to health and social care and how older people will be impacted

As an organisation, we are pleased to see the issue of social care addressed in the Autumn Statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.

Jeremy Hunt is MP for South West Surrey where our home Shottermill House is located and recently our family members wrote a letter to him sharing their concerns and prayers. We praise God that he is listening and engaging with this important issue.

The situation is of course very complex. The complexity is because the numbers of older people are increasing and the system is under strain; social care is hard to fund when the economy elsewhere is under strain; and the politics are challenging as more funding typically means more tax on people who vote.

Last year the Government pledged £5.3bn to support the social care sector and it is not clear how some big chunks of money are going to be used. Some of the key issues are:

• Postponing the cap on care costs probably means that it won’t happen – so more people will pay more for their care, particularly those with longer-term conditions like dementia. It appears that the money “saved” by Government may stay in social care.

• We are sorry that adult social care appears to be increasingly seen as just a way of getting people out of hospital rather than creating communities where people live fulfilled lives. We know that social care in and of itself is a vital service that requires serious consideration.

• There is still a drive for more domiciliary care. While this form of care is vital, it is often largely transactional due to the time pressures faced by staff. Those who are stuck at home only receiving domiciliary care often feel very lonely and isolated.

• There is no workforce plan for social care (one is being worked on for health), which is a pity. As an organisation, we rely on our carers to care for the older people in our homes and our sector as a whole is suffering greatly from staff shortages.

• The fact that the pensions triple lock will be retained and that pensions will increase in line with inflation will be welcome for older people.

So please do join me in praying for Government and in particular Jeremy Hunt as they think through these important issues. Please pray that they make wise and godly decisions that honour older people.

Following our letter to Jeremy Hunt, we heard back from his office saying that he would be delighted to come and visit us again at Shottermill House in the new year. Please do pray that he would come and see what a wonderful job our staff are doing and listen to some of the older people who are impacted by his decisions.

Finally, please pray that Christians would step up to the challenge of visiting those who are older and lonely in their communities rather than just looking to Government to provide.