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Care Homes

I congratulate the hon. Member for Teignbridge (Richard Younger-Ross) on securing this important and timely debate. It has been important and timely for 11 years, and it will continue to be so, particularly when the Government publish their Green Paper. The hon. Gentleman covered the three main areas of funding, quality and work force, and touched on immigration issues. Given the regularity with which we have debated the matter, I will focus my comments on those issues. We should not have to discuss the matter again today, because the Government have been promising to sort it out for 11 years. As far back as 1997, Tony Blair promised to end the practice of people selling their homes to fund their long-term care, but he rejected the findings of his own royal commission, and the Government have been accused of ducking the issue ever since by putting it in the "too difficult to deal with" box. The former Minister with responsibility for care services, the hon. Member for Bury, South (Mr. Lewis), had the temerity to suggest on 29 March last year that the Government have recognised that problem "belatedly". Instead of planning reform, the Government in their 2005 manifesto gave a commitment to continue to provide health care free in care homes. That is what happens anyway, and we all agree with it, so it was interesting to promise in a manifesto to maintain something that is not an issue. The current Prime Minister failed to address the matter in the Government's latest spending round in 2007, despite the fact, which I acknowledge, that Health Ministers badgered the Treasury and raised expectations of a new settlement, which were later dashed. The Liberal Democrats—the party of the hon. Gentleman who secured this debate—have not delivered when they have had the opportunity to do so in government in Scotland. It has been shown that their free personal care model from the last election is not without it is problems and costs. It is not free, because it does not cover hotel costs and so on. The hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) used the word "dishonest" in this very Chamber; other hon. Members did not dare to use that word—