Age UK responds to Care Minister's comments on social care

Age UK responds to comments made by the Care Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price at the Conservative Party Conference, on the ways to address challenges in social care.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:

"Older people do not represent a ‘magic money tree'; many have only limited housing equity in their homes and significant numbers have none at all.

"It may be that some older people and their families would be prepared to pay more for care but it must also be remembered that hundreds of thousands are already spending a lot on care and receiving very poor value in return, and that others are in no financial position to pay more at all.

"Age UK agrees that the time is ripe for a proper public debate about the responsibilities we owe to older people as individuals, families and the State, but this must start from an understanding that many millions are already informally caring, that many families live far apart, and that we have a long hours working culture in which most families feel they need two earners to sustain a reasonable standard of living.

"The State cannot shirk it's responsibility for ensuring that older people in need of care can access it - at present more than a million in England cannot."