| Referendum on PR plus Care Green Paper |
| The issue: |
Sir George
Congratulations on the Shadow Cabinet post.
Concerned to hear today about proposed referendum on PR - from a government that previously promised a referendum on EU and failed to keep its promises. Concerned it is a bid to gain Lib Dem support in a future election.
What is the conservative stance on the National Care Service Green Paper ? At the Andover and District Older People's Forum today concerns were expressed on funding options - inequalities with other countries of UK in relation to funding of care - taxation option not considered.
Concern also for how quality of care will be monitored and ensured in this personalised service with individual budgets held by vulnerable disabled and elderly people. Will a National Care Service end up as a massive bureaucracy with enormous infrastructure costs as per NHS ? How would savings be made to increase government funding of increased demands for care for future generations ?
It is agreed that changes are needed but how the vulnerable are to be safeguarded and how care is to be funded are key issues.
Kind regards
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| Date Issue Raised: |
29 Sep 2009 |
| My response: |
Many thanks for the email – I agree that the commitment to hold a referendum on PR would carry more conviction if we had had the promised referendum on the Lisbon Treaty!
(The AV system would have given the Government an even bigger majority in 1997, and been even less proportionate)
On the future of social care, my work on the Hampshire Commission on the Personalisation Agenda convinced me that giving individuals and their families more choice was the right way forward, and that reform would almost certainly cost more than is being spent at the moment. The last thing we want is a major and expensive re-organisation.
We will spell out our plans in more detail before the election – it may be that in the longer term, better personal services will reduce of the costs of expensive institutional care.
Best wishes, George Young
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website 