Lib Dems Stop Home Sales to Fund Long Term Care

7.45.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 31st Jan 2008

Pensioners could benefit from plans to base care on need rather than ability to pay

20,000 people in South East Cambridgeshire could benefit from a Liberal Democrat £2 billion "care guarantee" plan for the elderly, which ends the need to sell homes for long term care.

Based on need rather than ability to pay, the care guarantee idea will be recommended to the Party's Spring Conference in March.

Announcing the plan Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said it would also give users more control over their own care.

The plan has got the thumbs up from Age Concern. Its director general Gordon Lishman said:

"We support the people-centred vision outlined by the Liberal Democrats."

The plan would be funded from existing taxation. Nick Clegg explained:

"The question is not 'how much', but 'how we spend the money' so that everyone gets the healthcare they need."

Jonathan Chatfield the Lib Dem's parliamentary spokesperson for South East Cambridgeshire who is a conference delegate said:

"We would fund a minimum level of care for all who need it, ending the scandalous injustice of having to spend life savings.

"There would also be direct payments and individual budgets to help people with chronic, long-term conditions, mental health problems and learning disabilities."

"As to health care generally, Lib Dems want a people's NHS which puts individuals in the driving seat of their own healthcare.

"Our NHS would be controlled from the bottom, not the top. Local people would be in charge of decisions about their local health services through the ballot box.

"The current unaccountable Primary Care Trust quangos would be replaced with directly elected local health boards.

"Everyone would have guaranteed high quality core healthcare entitlements within maximum waiting times."