Oldham Labour are calling on central government to finally bring forward a solution to the long running and growing problem of unmet and unfunded social care needs.

Cllr Zahid Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, and Cllr Amanda Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, both spoke at the November meeting of Oldham Council. Following several years of delay in which the Conservative government have delayed and delayed bringing forward the promised green paper on social care, Oldham Labour have said enough is enough. The full motion approved at the council meeting was as follows:

The Council notes that over a million older people in England are struggling with unmet care needs and believes that in light of an ageing population we need bold changes to deliver a long term funding solution for social care.

The Council believes that it is fundamentally unfair that to access basic care many older people face catastrophic costs that can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, wipe out a lifetime of savings, and force families to sell their homes.

The Council also believes that England’s care system needs major reform to provide a long-term sustainable funding solution and to make care free at the point of use.

The Council therefore supports the introduction of free personal care for all older people in England, alongside a new social care contribution to fully fund the policy on a sustainable basis.

The Council calls on the Government to take the necessary steps to implement this policy as swiftly as possible to end the care crisis and properly support older people in the borough of Oldham.

This Council resolves to instruct the Chief Executive to

1. Write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care urging swift action to bring forward proposals to reform and fund the social, care system to a decent standard for all

2. Write to our three local MP(s) to support the campaign for free personal care, and to speak up in favour of the policy in the House of Commons and through their wider activity