Jeremy Hunt drops another clanger

People who have struggled with the cost of care in old age will continue to struggle. That is the real message of Jeremy Hunt to couples who are facing old age worrying what fate has in store for them. Many have been through the experience once or twice before with parents and relatives. Under the new plan they continue to face the same nightmare yet a cheery Mr Hunt has the cheek to announce: "as a government we want to back people who have worked hard all their lives, who have saved and done the right thing. The worst thing that can happen to those people is that by a cruel twist of fate they have to do the one thing they want to do least of all to lose their own home".

The average house price in England and Wales in December was £162,080. A cap of £75,000 per person is £150,000 for a couple with no time left to "plan, save or consider insurance" as suggested.  Mr Hunt said capping the overall costs would allow insurance firms to start offering affordable social care plans for millions of people for the first time but insurers have expressed doubt about the viability of the scheme which is to be funded by a freeze on Inheritance Tax, another broken pledge. People living in Wales face a double whammy finding that the extra taxes raised will go to fund a scheme in England for which they are not eligible without the introduction in Wales of a similar scheme or a redistribution of funds.

Elderly people belong to a generation when it was common for wives to devote themselves to motherhood, nurturing the family on a tight budget before having to devote themselves to caring for elderly parents. There was no second income or easy credit available and no second pension to cushion their old age. Home ownership was seen as their reward for thrift, a nest egg for the family but many have already seen their inheritance disappear after struggling with the enormous costs of care. Those same people remain in the trap because the new scheme, such as it is, will take time to come into effect. So what we have from Mr Hunt is more political posturing allowing ministers to claim that people will not have to sell their homes to pay for care when the opposite is true for the elderly today because the scheme is directed towards the future when the expectation is that people will have had time to fund their care. As usual, those with no inclination for thrift or planning will be paid for by the rest of us so it would be more sensible if we all paid into a care fund so that those who need it are cared for while those who don't can count themselves fortunate.

Such a scheme has been proposed by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC). Listen to their spokesperson here and complain to your MP about this continued injustice. 

Church in Wales fake marriages

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) says it is working with the Church in Wales to train clergy to spot fake marriages.

Meanwhile their Archbishop has been otherwise engaged in business, care of the elderly and tracing ancient footsteps for a TV series although he did have some time for religious duties over the Christmas period when he preached about happiness and serving others. In his sermon at Llandaff Cathedral Archbishop Morgan said, "We would be a happier nation if we stopped thinking of ourselves and learnt to put other people first, treating them with fairness and compassion." 

That must be provided they are not traditionalist Anglicans trying to exercise their catholic faith under his authoritarian regime. 

“Political Stunt” v. Tory Stunt

The conference arranged by the Secretary of State for Health to help build a consensus on plans to pay for care of the elderly has been branded a “political stunt” by his Tory counterpart. Their preferred option was for a stunt involving a 'R.I.P. Off ' poster campaign to frighten people into believing that a no vote for them would result in a £20,000 “death tax”.

So we have another political football match being played out while the vulnerable have to watch from the side lines. As one old boy in a care home remarked on the BBC ‘News’ last night, we’ve worked all our lives paying taxes and insurance so the Government must provide care for us in our old age. True, but the problem of funding has to be addressed to achieve a consensus of all parties.

In that spirit reports suggest that the conference drew wide praise from charities, local authorities and experts who attended. The preferred option appears to be a progressive estate levy which takes account of people’s ability to contribute rather than the scare mongering £20,000 compulsory tax referred to in the poster campaign. But the Tory stunt had the desired effect. When asked, two-thirds of people favoured everybody contributing to the cost of those needing social care but when asked if there should be a “death tax” to pay for it two-thirds responded negatively.

That is no surprise but if they had been asked if they would rather pay a progressive estate levy than risk selling their homes to pay for nursing care no doubt there would have been a different response. But to be fair the Tories have offered an alternative, a voluntary insurance scheme! Fine for the super rich who can easily afford the insurance cover and get away without paying tax while the poorest are likely to lose out.

“Political Stunt” 1 – Tory Stunt 0. Time for a real consensus please.

Better dead than bare!

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned that the use of airport body scanners in the UK may be unlawful because they produce "naked" images of passengers. The Commission is especially concerned for the privacy of certain groups such as disabled people, the elderly, children and the transgendered community.

Previously the Commission worried about pictures of young children being viewed, albeit by specially trained operatives, as though terrorists are blessed with the highest moral standards which cause them to bomb only with integrity. Not content with extending the range of 'vulnerable groups' the Commission is also worried about how people are selected. - Avoid coloured people for fear of being thought racist and women for fear of being thought sexist perhaps? So that leaves not too young nor too old white males, provided they are not rather tall nor a bit short and likely to be picked on. Just average white males as ideal candidates then?

Can anyone seriously be more worried about a temporary, blurred image of the themselves being displayed on a security screen than the possibility of being blown apart in a terrorist plot? If the Commission is concerned on a point of law, a simple waiver will do me. Better a 'Human Right' to life than the 'Equality' of death.