MPs join campaigners calling for social care reform

Two Liberal Democrat MPs have joined campaigners calling for a change to social care policy.

Olly Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, and Henley and Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo joined campaigners in Westminster calling on the government to address what they called a "crisis in social care".

The government has committed to an independent commission that would make "clear recommendations" on how to rebuild the sector, which is expected to begin in April.

But critics have previously said the timescale set out by Labour lacked sufficient urgency.

"It definitely needs reform, and it's good that the Labour government is committing to doing that, but I'm really concerned they want to take another three years to do yet another review into social care," Mr Glover told the BBC.

He said social care was "incredibly important", with one constituent recently telling him at a surgery that it was currently a "lonely, stressful journey" to find the right care.

"Because there isn't an overall system, a lot of people are finding it really hard to navigate through it," he added.

Social care covers a broad range of services for people who are older or living with a physical or mental illness.

The King's Fund estimates local authorities in England spent £28.4bn on social care in 2022/23.

The Lib Dems have called for the government's planned review to be carried out within a year, as opposed to the three that Labour have currently scheduled.

Mr van Mierlo said he joined protesters in Parliament Square because "we need this to be a wake-up call for ministers".

Speaking about the protest on 25 February, he said: "As we have seen today, the care sector, people in need of care and council budgets simply cannot wait any longer; the social care review needs to be completed within a year, not the three currently scheduled.

"Only then will we see the care in Oxfordshire available when and where people need it.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting previously said the government's aim was to set up a "National Care Service" that would be capable of catering for an ageing population for decades to come.

He said the government would "finally grasp the nettle on social care reform" but that it would take time to devise a model fit for the future.

Mr Streeting also rejected suggestions the government was pushing social care reform into the long grass, saying it was "already acting" and had "done a lot" during its first months in power.

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