Tag Archives: George Osborne

Budget 2013: did the Chancellor deliver for older people?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by janevass | 10 Comments

Following statements from the Chancellor prior to the budget, it seemed that older people were due to benefit from significant changes to the future funding structures of social care and pensions. However, following the Chancellor’s statement there is little new to celebrate.

The main point of interest for pensioners was confirmation that the implementation of the cap on social care costs (the ‘Dilnot’ reforms) and the introduction of the single-tier state pension will both be brought forward to 2016-17. From April 2016, there will be a cap of £72,000 on the costs of care, and the upper threshold limit for the residential care means test will be increased to £118,000.

Whilst we welcome the earlier implementation of the care costs cap and the higher upper means test threshold from April 2016, this will do nothing to help the 800,000 older people who need help with everyday tasks but receive no formal state support. Since 2010/11, in real terms £700 million has been cut from local authority spending on social care. Although the Government has provided additional investment for social care over the course of this parliament, it has not been enough to halt the downwards spiral in care funding. As a result, 85 per cent of local authorities now provide care only to people with substantial or critical needs.
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Posted in Budget, Energy, Home and Care, Income, Money Matters

Tagged #Budget2013, #Dilnot, Age UK, Age UK blog, Ageing, ageing society, Budget, Budget 2013, Chancellor, Dilnot Commission, Dilnot report, energy, Energy Bill Revolution, Energy Bill Revolution coalition, energy efficiency, fuel poverty, George Osborne, Government, Incomes, money matters, older people, pensions, social care, spread the warmth, Spread the Warmth campaign, winter deaths

No news is not always good news

Posted on December 5, 2012 by ageukpublicaffairs | 2 Comments

The Chancellor delivered his third Autumn Statement today. He tried to strike a tone of cautious optimism over recent economic data suggesting the end of the recession and rising employment. Underneath this, however, there were more cuts as Government struggles to eliminate the structural deficit as it has prioritised.

Yet again the biggest omission from the Chancellor’s statement was any plan to help resolve the crisis in social care. We welcome the continued protection for the NHS budget but unless funding for social care is urgently addressed then the knock on costs to the NHS will continue to grow. The announcement of a further two per cent cut to council budgets in two years’ time is likely to exacerbate this if it leads to further reductions to frontline care and support services that are often already stripped to the bone.

Allowing the social care system to limp along, leaving too many older people isolated and afraid of what tomorrow might bring, is not only morally questionable but makes no financial sense. Reform of care funding would be a worthy legacy for any Government, it remains a scandal that 18 months after Andrew Dilnot published his report, it remains unresolved. Continue reading →

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Posted in Autumn Statement, Economy, Health, Income, Money Matters, Social care

Tagged #AS2012, #autumnstatement, #carecantwait, #careincrisis, Age UK, Age UK blog, Ageing, ageing society, Autumn Statement, Care in Crisis, Care in Crisis campaign, Chancellor, economy, George Osborne, Health, HM Treasury, Income, Incomes, money, money matters, NHS, older people, pensioner poverty, pensions, poverty, saving, social care, social care reform, Spending Review, Treasury, triple-lock

Does the Chancellor realise that care can’t wait?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by andyglyde | 2 Comments

On Wednesday 5 December, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, will be giving his Autumn Statement to Parliament. After the Budget, it is one of the most important events in the Chancellor’s calendar. He will be explaining the current economic situation facing the country and will detail some of the Government’s plans for the future.

This is the perfect opportunity for the Chancellor to show that the Government is serious about tackling the crisis in social care. Back in July, we saw the White Paper, Caring for our future, which set out a range of proposals to radically reform the social care system. These included a minimum eligibility threshold, more rights for carers and reinforced by media reports , a commitment to the principle of capping the cost of care, to name just a few.

Should these proposals be implemented, they have the potential to make a huge difference to older people who rely on social care to live with dignity. However, the Government have yet to explain how they plan to fund these proposals, risking the whole process being kicked into the long grass. Continue reading →

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Posted in Campaigning, care homes, Home and Care, Social care

Tagged Age UK, Age UK blog, Ageing, ageing society, Autumn Statement, care crisis, Care in Crisis, Care in Crisis campaign, Chancellor, George Osborne, older people, social care, Social Care White Paper

There may be even more trouble ahead – last week’s announcement of Subsidised Loans

Posted on June 19, 2012 by José Luis Iparraguirre | 2 Comments

Last Thursday, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, jointly announced a new measure to stimulate economic growth. They also, importantly, did not rule out more quantitative easing.

Mr King prescribed a recipe of subsidised credit, estimated to be worth about £80bn –already known as ‘funding for lending‘. Technically, it consists of auctions by the Bank of England of loans totalling a minimum of £5bn a month for 6 months at a minimum rate of the Bank Rate plus 25 basis points (currently 0.75 per cent).

They feel this is required because the volume of loans to non-financial companies has been falling since the onset of the crisis: the chart below shows that less money has been loaned than the month before, almost every month, since February 2009.