Tag Archives: ukcuts
The Archbishop of York says our elderly men and women must not suffer
Elderly care: Commentary by the Archbishop of York
This year, and for many years to come, the demands on the national purse will be huge.
By Dr John Sentamu
7:00AM GMT 13 Jan 2012
We are in debt. We cannot go on spending as though there is no tomorrow. Stringent savings are needed, but must be applied with caution and compassion. Only the most callous would want defenceless elderly men and women to suffer as a result.
Today, the ratio of wage-earners to retired people is about 3:1 in the UK. As we are living longer and longer, that could become 2:1 by the time today’s teenagers have retired. That may not be as fearsome as it sounds:
• Older people are healthier than they used to be and laws governing the age of retirement are being changed.
Benefit cuts will hit family carers over the coming years
Carers ‘disproportionately hit’ by government cuts
Mithran Samuel
Wednesday 04 January 2012 00:13
Carers will be disproportionately hit by government benefit cuts over the coming years, research published today shows.
Tax and benefit changes from 2010-15 will result in a real terms drop of 6% in net income for households where a person claims carer’s allowance, compared with a 4% fall for other households, found an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, commissioned by the Family and Parenting Institute.
Elderly ‘robbed of dignity’ by failing social care services
Full-time carers who are forced to leave their jobs to look after frail relatives are being “pushed to breaking point”
By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent
10:00PM GMT 02 Jan 2012
Hundreds of thousands of elderly people are being robbed of their dignity by England’s failing social care services and left at risk of “terrible abuse and neglect”, David Cameron has been warned.
An unprecedented coalition of more than 60 government advisers, charity directors and independent experts is demanding “urgent” and “fundamental” reform to care and home help services in England.
Thousands are forced to sell their homes and use up their savings to pay rising care bills each year, while businesses are losing experienced staff who are forced to quit to look after their relatives.
