Lib Dems Launch 'Free Care for the Elderly' Petition in Hull

12.00.00am GMT Mon 17th Dec 2001

Diana Wallis MEP, Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, launched Hull Lib Dems' campaign to secure full implementation of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care recommendation of free personal care for the elderly.

The Hull-based Euro-MP visited Lake View Manor residential home with Cllr Simone Butterworth, Lib Dem Leader in Hull, to collect signatures and officially launch a petition which will be delivered to households across Hull.

Elderly people in Scotland will soon enjoy free care thanks to the Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament.

Commenting, Diana Wallis said: "The Government's plans fail the fairness test. Charging for care on the basis of who provides the care and where rather than on what care is needed is a recipe for confusion.

"The Government's own Royal Commission was UK-wide. If its recommendations are good enough for one part of the UK, why are they not good enough for the rest? We need a UK wide debate on delivering a care system fair and fit for all."

Cllr Butterworth added: "The Government's free nursing care plans are fatally flawed. They are based on little more than a 'back of a fag packet' calculation. They take no account of the unsustainable squeeze on care home fee levels or of the accelerating rate of care home closures.

"Tony Blair said before the last General Election that he did not want to live in a country where people were forced to sell their homes to pay for their care. Labour's rejection of the Royal Commission means the debt collector will still come calling on the frail and elderly in Hull."