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Caring for the Elderly

I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman's sentiments, but I am afraid that if he spoke to all the elderly people in the country he would find that they were not receiving quality services. What they are receiving is patchy services that are very different in different areas, along with different entitlements. All the surveys conducted by older people's organisations make it clear that the quality of care is as important as its funding, but the two must be seen together. It is simply not realistic to suggest that we can secure better quality services without facing up to the difficult issues of funding.