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Dementia Services

My hon. Friend is right that a myth is put about that we have done nothing and that there has been inertia for 10 years. There has not. We have reformed our social care system to make it fairer and taken steps towards the fundamental reform that I am saying is necessary. He is right that the house is disregarded when two people are involved, and he will know that we have gone further and introduced the deferred payments scheme, so that if the other person goes into a care home too, the house does not have to be sold immediately during their lifetime; that can be considered later. Those are two important reforms that are glossed over by some. However, we want to go further, and that is the case that I am making today. On their own, those reforms are not enough. If we do not do more, we will face a generation of older people who experience greater unfairness as they approach care. As good as those changes were, I am prepared to accept that they will not do the job completely. The Government's vision is of a national care service that is fairer, simpler and more affordable, that is underpinned by national rights and entitlements, that ends the postcode lottery in care and that is personalised to individual needs. The vision is a system with quality at its heart, in which people get the care and support that they need wherever they are in the country. The national care service is about helping people live their lives in the way that they want to, putting their needs and wishes first, helping them keep up relationships with family and friends and live in their own homes as long as they can, and where possible helping them continue to work and contribute to their community. Reform of the care and support system and the shift towards prevention is the only fiscally responsible strategy for the long term, but it is also the only morally responsible strategy. I intend to publish a White Paper in the very near future setting out the future of care and support in England. We are working to improve the services that are available now and transform them in the years to come. As we take our first steps in this new decade, we are beginning to create the momentum that is necessary to deliver once-in-a-generation reform.