24 August 2009
Concerns have been raised about aspects of the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Care Together, published 14 July.
It sets out proposals for a National Care Service for adults in England, focusing on older people but mentioning also people with other care needs, including long-term conditions.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham says everyone in England will be guaranteed:
- the right support to stay independent and well for as long as possible
- joined up services
- information and advice
- personalised care and support
- consistency in the way care needs will be assessed - and paid for - across the country.
Aspects of this may sound good in principle but like some other charities and campaigning organisations we are worried.
For example the Paper suggests that the government plans to stop paying Attendance Allowance (AA) – the main disability allowance for people over 65 - and the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and give the money to social services to administer as part of a personal budget instead.
Action for M.E. will be asking the government to clarify its proposals, as the Paper is not explicit or detailed enough.
We also have concerns about the options for funding future care services which may bear down very hard and unfairly on some individuals.
Action for M.E. is therefore developing a consultation survey to find out more about what possible changes may mean for people with M.E.
We will analyse the results and use them to inform our response to the consultation which is due by November.
The survey and a briefing paper about the Paper will be available shortly. They will be circulated via our e-bulletin, Keep Me Updated, and posted on our website.
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