Age UK responds to the new Coalition's programme for Government

Responding to the new Coalition's programme for Government, Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director at Age UK, said:

"We welcome the new Government's pledge to establish a commission on long-term care reform and its commitment to report within one year. The current care system is starved of funding, too few people receive services and the quality of care can be scandalous, so we urgently need to find new ways to improve quality and spread the cost of care.

"As part of the review, politicians must consider a range of options that not only cover a diverse spectrum of care needs, including people who need care at home, but also people from different financial means. With an expected £1.75 billion funding gap set to open up within three years, the crisis will only get worse unless immediate action is taken to address this growing problem. 

"In addition to today's announcement, the new Government must also guarantee protection of existing national and local care budgets in next month's emergency budget so that the crisis does not deepen any further.

"The coalition Government's pledges to restore the state pension/earnings link, phase out forced retirement, auto-enrol people into pensions and extend flexible working are all welcome policies. But on the day the government announced 1.8 million older people remain in poverty, it's disappointing the collation makes no reference to reducing poverty or making energy affordable for people with low income. We hope to see further progress on these key issues for older people in the next few months."

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Notes to Editors

Age UK is the new force combining Age Concern and Help the Aged. The Age UK family includes Age Scotland, Age Cymru and Age NI.

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