Somerset Lib Dems blast Tories on social care funding

Somerset’s Liberal Democrat MP and Parliamentary candidates have jointly condemned Rishi Sunak’s government for “putting private profit ahead of care and our NHS.”

They have accused the Conservatives of turning their backs on people who need care after yesterday’s Autumn Statement failed to deliver new funding for social care which they promised in 2019 and again in 2021.

Sarah Dyke, MP for Somerton and Frome, said “The government complacently cut council funding by 40%, and today is sitting by while people go without the care they need.

“The Conservatives’ policies have broken Britain; it’s time to replace them with MPs who will restore financial stability, bring back trust in politicians, give hope to those that have been ignored for too long and actually stand up for people, our local communities and the services they need.”

Gideon Amos, the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Taunton and Wellington, added: “This isn’t just another broken promise from the Conservative government - it’s one that hits Somerset, with its older than average population, particularly hard.

“Unless proper support for social care is put in place, our NHS will remain on its knees trying to cope with patients held inside our hospitals and ambulances queuing outside.”

“The Conservative government has total responsibility for the crisis in social care around the country - there is nothing our local council can do to find an extra £93 million per year when government is breaking its funding promises and capping the council’s income”.

Tessa Munt, a former Liberal Democrat MP, is now Parliamentary candidate for Wells and Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Children, Families & Education.

She said: “Having been elected less than 18 months ago to put the heart back into Somerset, we’re already providing homes so Somerset children come home for the care they need.

“However, it’s heartbreaking for the children and families I deal with that the Conservative government has once again failed to provide enough funding for people in need - they’re showing a callous disregard for people and families around the country who need care.”

Adam Dance, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Yeovil and the council’s Lead Member for Public Health, said: “Those people in Yeovil who cannot afford the care they need were hoping that finally the Conservative government would honour its promise to address the question of how care is to be delivered and paid for.

“Once again, the Conservatives have ducked the question and failed to help those people most in need.

"The issue of social care continues to rest on the shoulders of local authorities such as Somerset Council, exacerbating the financial emergency."

Claire Sully, the party’s Parliamentary candidate in Bridgwater, added: “The Conservatives’ forced council merger was so badly planned that only a year after we won control of Somerset Council from them, independent auditors report that the council was left without sufficient funds to cover ‘inflation, interest rates and the rising demands and costs of care’.

“As a result, the new council has come into being saddled with a financial crisis - one which would be totally avoidable if government followed through on its repeated promises of new funding for social care.”

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Manifesto of 2019 promised major reform of social care, and, in December 2021, the Conservative government again promised “at least £500m over the next three years”, none of which has been delivered.

In the mini budget, money for social care was yet again completely absent.

Councils run by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and other parties around the country are no longer able to meet increasing needs of adults and children for care, the cost of which in Somerset alone will rise by £93 million next year.

Conservative-run Hampshire has said it is facing “financial meltdown” while Birmingham City Council has already effectively declared bankruptcy.

Somerset Council is currently grappling with rising costs against the context of capped council tax revenue and the recent ending of grants from central government.