Most MPs including Tories agree social care crisis is making people suffer

Over three quarters of MPs including most Conservatives (58 per cent) agree there is a social care crisis, with the majority believing people in their constituencies are now suffering because of care cuts.

The depressing findings were revealed by a poll of 138 MPs including 51 Conservative MPs.

Most MPs (65 per cent) admitted the number of people in their constituencies coming to them with concerns about social care had increased during their time in office.

Concern was highest among MPs in the north of England where 62 per cent of MPs strongly agreed that their constituents are suffering because of cuts to care.

Worryingly, most MPs (51 per cent) did not think the long-awaited social care green paper would improve standards of care.

The poll was commissioned by the NHS Confederation, which leads Health for Care - a coalition of 15 organisations including the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Patients Association and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Health for Care is calling for a sustainable social care system backed by long-term funding.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “The Prime Minister came to power promising to fix the crisis in care but failed – her successor cannot afford to do the same.

"Now is the time for MPs of all parties to work together to agree a solution that ends the unfairness faced by thousands of people every day.”

Politicians agree care crisis exists but cannot agree on a solution

Politicians were split on what the solution for social care would be, according to the poll's findings.

Some 21 per cent wished to introduce free personal care, 20 per cent wanted an auto-enrolment insurance system, 19 per cent favour a cap on social care costs and a revised ‘floor’ to the means test (a variant of the Dilnot proposal) and 18 per cent want to improve the current system.

Conservative MPs are most likely to support the option of an auto-enrolment insurance system (30 per cent) and Labour MPs are most likely to support the introduction of free personal care (40 per cent).

Between March and May, ComRes received responses from 138 MPs including 51 Conservative MPs, 66 Labour MPs, 12 SNP and nine MPs from other parties.

Sally Copley, director of policy and campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Successive governments have failed to tackle this issue. The human cost of this inaction is staggering, with many families at breaking point.

“The new Prime Minister must say how they will introduce a long-term funding solution for care, without which the NHS Long Term Plan will fail.”

The Alzheimer’s Society is also calling for “urgent investment” in specialist dementia support through a Dementia Fund to provide a “lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people living with dementia".

Health for Care is running an online petition calling on the PM to secure, long term funding to deliver the care people need – suggesting this should be a minimum increase of 3.9 per cent in spending a year).

The petition has more than 125,000 signatures to date (5 June). To sign the petition click here.