Personal Care at Home Bill

I had not intended to speak but, listening to some of the debate, I want to add a very short comment. I am certainly concerned for carers and users and the disappointment that they might face if this is not implemented as soon as possible. As someone who works in the sector all the time, I think that we have to face the reality of who will be disappointed and who will receive the service. What is absolutely clear is that, whatever happens, there will be rationing. We have heard the arguments—I shall not repeat them—from the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, and others, about the situation in local authorities. We all know that at the moment there are not enough domiciliary carers to meet the need. Those providers of domiciliary care services know that currently they are sending people in at six o’clock at night to put people to bed and at six o’clock in the morning to get them up, because that is the only time slot that remains. If we introduce the legislation immediately there will be a range of people who are currently receiving services but who are not at the heaviest end in the community, who will therefore lose those services because the services will be moved to people who can afford to pay for them but who will have a right to them. My worry is for those carers. I declare an interest as someone with responsibility for someone with serious Alzheimer’s in the community in the north of England and who may well benefit from this change. I think that we have to think very carefully. My other reason for speaking is that I do not wish the Bill to fail. I do not want to support what might be a wrecking amendment. We have long waited for social care to be on the agenda—for those who need that type of social care to have the same kind of benefit as they would if they went into hospital. Many of them are the same patients/clients; they are the same people who need that kind of service. I hope that we will not lose the side of the Bill that takes us into the Green Paper. Local authorities need time. Practically, they will have to sort out who does and who does not receive a service. Although I find it hard to disagree with some of my colleagues who support carers and carers’ associations, some of those people will lose out because there simply will not be enough money to go round.