The complacency of Phillip Hammond MP in not responding to the crisis in Social Care shows us how little influence local Conservatives have over their masters at Westminster. To people who vote Conservative in local elections in order to try to influence a Conservative Government, this demonstrates that it is a truly pointless exercise! Surrey Councillors lobbied Mr Hammond last Autumn and explained the all too clear link between lack of social care resources and the ‘knock on’ to the already overstretched NHS. The result of Mr Hammond’s inaction is that we will soon be paying 15% more on our Council Tax which will hit middle and working class families hardest (the rise will be in place before any referendum is held).
Mrs May made a very clumsy point on the Marr show this week when questioned about Surrey County Council’s overspend on social care; she said that Councils must learn to work efficiently with the NHS to deal with the delayed hospital discharges: What an insensitive, ill informed comment to make when the ‘excellent’ rated Frimley Hospital, in Surrey, is actually leading the country in that kind of co-operative partnership work. As a Governor at Frimley for the past 2 years I can assure the Prime Minister that hospital and social care staff do not need that kind of put down in these difficult times.
The reason that the Tories and LibDems took us on a journey into shrinking public services was in order to reduce the deficit that had been caused by the collapse of the finance sector. The only tools in their box have been the unimaginative asset stripping of our public services and starving the remainder of funds. Despite Tory enthusiasm for impoverishing people on middle and low incomes, they have made little headway and failed on each of their deficit targets. Meanwhile with the £1.9 Billion shortfall in children services and £2,6 Billion in adult social care (nationally) this Government is behaving in a heartless and destructive manner by withholding funds.
Mrs May and Mr Hammond want the question to Surrey residents to be “do you want the Council to close your libraries or your fire stations or your social care services - take your pick?” Personally I think our residents are brighter than that, they want the Government to do the job they were elected to do, to Govern to provide a functioning economy and society and stop wasting our taxes on billions of giveaways to Companies registered in tax havens.
Mrs May made a very clumsy point on the Marr show this week when questioned about Surrey County Council’s overspend on social care; she said that Councils must learn to work efficiently with the NHS to deal with the delayed hospital discharges: What an insensitive, ill informed comment to make when the ‘excellent’ rated Frimley Hospital, in Surrey, is actually leading the country in that kind of co-operative partnership work. As a Governor at Frimley for the past 2 years I can assure the Prime Minister that hospital and social care staff do not need that kind of put down in these difficult times.
The reason that the Tories and LibDems took us on a journey into shrinking public services was in order to reduce the deficit that had been caused by the collapse of the finance sector. The only tools in their box have been the unimaginative asset stripping of our public services and starving the remainder of funds. Despite Tory enthusiasm for impoverishing people on middle and low incomes, they have made little headway and failed on each of their deficit targets. Meanwhile with the £1.9 Billion shortfall in children services and £2,6 Billion in adult social care (nationally) this Government is behaving in a heartless and destructive manner by withholding funds.
Mrs May and Mr Hammond want the question to Surrey residents to be “do you want the Council to close your libraries or your fire stations or your social care services - take your pick?” Personally I think our residents are brighter than that, they want the Government to do the job they were elected to do, to Govern to provide a functioning economy and society and stop wasting our taxes on billions of giveaways to Companies registered in tax havens.