BBC Breakfast: Helen Whately squirms over social care plan

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BBC Breakfast host Charlie Stayt argued that if the Government considers social care an imminent issue, future dates of 2022 and 2023 were of little use to anyone in need of care now. While speaking to the social care minister Helen Whately he argued that if the Government considers this a crisis issue it needs funding now rather than later. Ms Whately tentatively argued back that the forward-looking nature of the plan was to ensure the reform of social care could be enacted.

She also claimed the Government was already giving money to local authorities for social care.

Mr Stayt said:” I think the phrase you used for October 2023 was that it was a little way off.

“I am thinking to myself, If I am someone today or tomorrow who has social care needs all of those dates you have given me, April 2022, October 2023 frankly don’t mean much.

“This is because my needs are now.

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“If your Government is accepting, and I think you are, that the needs are immediate and almost at crisis point, why is the money not available now?

“If you accept that more money is needed, do it now because the need is now.”

Ms Whately then attempted to explain that there will be money going into social care now.

She said: “Well actually we are putting funding in today.

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“For instance, over the pandemic, an extra £6 billion has gone to local authorities for which they have been able to use for social care.

“We have directed £2 billion specifically into the extra infection control costs for social care during the pandemic.

“We are directly actively supporting social care right now.

“But what this is about is those big reforms to social care that everyone has been calling for so long.

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“You can’t switch that on over the night.”

From April 2022, National Insurance will increase by a 1.25 percentage point, as part of the Government’s plans to reform the health and social care system.

MPs have Wednesday night in the House of Commons and have supported the Government’s tax rise plan by 319 votes to 248, majority 71.

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