12 May 2008
The social care system needs "radical reform" to ensure proper care for older people, Gordon Brown said this morning.
Speaking at the breakfast launch of a consultation document, the PM said that Britain must "look again" at the future of social care for older people. Almost two million more people are expected to require care and support in 20 years time as life expectancy increases.
The PM said he fully understood people’s anxieties and wanted them to be able to save for old age "in a way which insures them and protects their houses and their inheritance".
"Of course, helping relatives is a challenge that most families rise to - however difficult it becomes.
"The family units we value so highly are still the mainstay of informal care for people - and what they do in times of greatest need is invaluable."
Mr Brown said that any new social care system must respond to the reality of increasing longevity, and provide fairness for those who work hard and save for their retirement.
Services should also be more reactive to personal needs, with more people being cared for in their own homes.
"I saw myself how much difference this makes when I met elderly residents of a special housing complex in the East End Community Village in Plymouth only last week.
"What I found truly impressive was the help and support that gave each of them the freedom of living in their own self-contained apartments."
He encouraged "all those who care about our future" to take part in the consultation and wider debate.