Personal Care at Home Bill

I rise because I fully support the Bill and have done from the very beginning. I also have some information from the Government about the work that they have already been doing with councils to ensure that councils have as much information as possible about the policy, the support that will be provided and the amount of central funding that they will receive. Moreover, we are talking here about people with the highest needs. Most of them have been anticipating that they will have a service from 1 October 2010 and I do not really think that we should disappoint them when they have been expecting an improved service. In point of fact, of course, one of the most important groups is the people who actually care for them. I have been a carer myself and I know how one waits and hopes for some assistance and is very unhappy when one does not get any. I do not think that the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Best, should be accepted. We should proceed as fast as we can to get this policy operating so that people who have high needs get some assistance as soon as possible.