Elderly social care consensus urged by MPs

The committee is keen for political parties to reach a consensus

Political parties should set aside "pre-election point scoring" over the issue of social care for the elderly in England, a committee of MPs has said.

A report by the cross-party Commons health committee says a consensus is needed for a long-term strategy to be drawn up concerning those needing care.

It calls for a start on planning of a National Care Service, whether funded by tax or an insurance scheme.

The government is expected to publish social care plans before the election.

The committee said a failure to reach a consensus on delivering reforms would "betray current and future generations".

All the main parties are looking at ways to end the complex series of rules and local assessments that decide if someone gets funding for their care in old age or must spend their own savings, which in some cases involves a person selling their home.

The report was critical of the government's Personal Care at Home Bill.

The bill, which is currently going through Parliament, was announced by Gordon Brown at Labour's conference last autumn in the middle of a consultation period on wider reforms to set up a National Care Service.

'Lasting solution'

The MPs were sceptical about an unexpected pledge by the prime minister that 400,000 people would get free care at home - a measure that would be introduced before the wider reforms being considered.

The report called that "policy-making on the hoof".

It said there was a strong argument for reform of the current system, which "provides a safety net service rather than a universal one, is chronically underfunded and is insufficiently focused on the needs and aspirations of individual people".

However, it added: "Worthwhile and lasting reform will only be achieved if consensus can be reached... so that the necessary tough decisions can be taken with broad popular support.

"We would have liked to see all the political parties come together to map out sustainable reform, instead of indulging in pre-election point-scoring. There is still an opportunity in advance of the demographic changes to come to reform social care, achieving consensus and creating a lasting solution."

Kevin Barron, the committee's chairman, said the MPs did not want the issue "to be turned into an election football for it to be kicked back into the long grass again in a few weeks".