Osborne calls cost of an ageing population "a burden"

First topic message reminder :

Successive governments have betrayed Britain’s pensioners by spending less on social care for the elderly than almost any other country in Europe.

Research which campaigners say ‘should shame us as a nation’ has found that Italy and France spend twice as much on their pensioners as we do in the UK.

Britain comes 17th out of the 20 major European countries surveyed, behind wealthy Germany as well as former Communist countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic.

Miserable: Proportionally the UK spend less than half of the what Italy do on the elderly

The shocking betrayal of the elderly, many of whom fought to defend Britain’s freedom in the Second World War, is revealed in a damning report by the over-50s group Saga.

They say it shows that the UK simply does not respect and care about the elderly as much as our EU neighbours do.

The tiny amount of public spending committed to the elderly – 5.8 per cent of national income compared to 11.7 per cent in Italy – is a key reason behind the scandal of tens of thousands of people having to sell their homes every year to pay for their residential care.

The UK rank a lowly 17th out of 20 nations, with Italy way out in front

Other countries fund care home fees through taxes or national insurance systems, meaning care is available when people need it. The report warns that our low spending rate has also led to an enormous burden on family members, who are left having to take on roles as unpaid carers because the state does not step in.

And it means thousands of pensioners are isolated in their own houses because not enough home helps, meals on wheels services and day centres are available.

Director general of Saga, Ros Altmann, said our low spending on elderly social care could explain why women in Britain die earlier than those in any other major country in Western Europe.

The two countries at the top of the care funding table – France and Italy – have the longest life expectancy for women in Europe. They live to an average of more than 84 years, compared to 81 in England – lower even than Slovenia.

‘These figures show how generations of British politicians have betrayed our increasingly ageing population and have failed to fund properly the care so many of them will clearly need..

‘It should shame us as a nation that other European countries seem to take the needs of their older population more seriously than we do.’. also due to low State pensions,-

Cold kills 180 British pensioners a day during winter

Please go to this link and sign this petition on the Government’s web site.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

All elderly people should receive residential care free, via the State, and a much higher basic State pension free of means testing

Responsible department: Department for Work and Pensions

The Government must fund elderly people's rights to free residential Care paid for by the State because our elderly people have paid into the system all their working lives, and Government must also pay all pensioners now and in the future, a much higher basic state pension by restoring the National Insurance Act born of a Labour Government in 1974 which linked increases in the State pension to male average earnings, or The Retail Price Index ( RPI), whichever the greater. In 1975, the then Labour Government passed the "Social Security Act", introducing a State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme, this was considered in the pensions industry, the most cost effective scheme ever.

Please sign this petition.

A Reminder

Last updated by the House of Commons Information Office on 1 October 2012.


Conservative 304

Labour 253

Liberal Democrat 57

Democratic Unionist 8

Scottish National 6

Sinn Fein 5

Plaid Cymru 3

Social Democratic & Labour 3

Alliance 1

Green 1

Respect 1

Independent 2




Total number of seats 650



Current working Government Majority 83



Figures which signify that the Coalition can continue to thrash the Poor for being poor until there is another General Election.

oftenwrong wrote:A Reminder

Last updated by the House of Commons Information Office on 1 October 2012.


Conservative 304

Labour 253

Liberal Democrat 57

Democratic Unionist 8

Scottish National 6

Sinn Fein 5

Plaid Cymru 3

Social Democratic & Labour 3

Alliance 1

Green 1

Respect 1

Independent 2




Total number of seats 650



Current working Government Majority 83



Figures which signify that the Coalition can continue to thrash the Poor for being poor until there is another General Election.

The figues show the right wing Tory's , not Conservatives, in the lead.

Okay - so Labour needs a makeover to appeal to a wider audience.

The whinge of griping has little appeal.


Swimming through a heavy swell doesn't get one very far. It's time to choose a wave and ride it............................

And then another and then another. Where is the underpinning philosophy? Nobody could tell you in a couple of phrases if asked. The Tories are much easier to pin down, especially their loyalty to their own kind of people i.e. rich and selfish.

Milliband is a good guy, but he doesn't get enough air-time to sell a package that will appeal to middle England.

The reality of the world economy is the outcome of leadership by a few super-rich people who plan to loan out just enough to keep enough people on their side. Credit cards and mortgages were just the start of it all for the rest of us. All that debt money in circulation.... The global economy allows for very big profit margins from less well regulated parts of the world. Work then loses its link with profit and our ability to earn a living wage in a competitive economy.

So - what's the next big plan???

How will we all be on-side with it??

Ivanhoe said: The figues show the right wing Tory's , not Conservatives, in the lead.

I may be a tad thick Ivanhoe, but could you tell me which of the Party's David Cameron is Leader of, the Tories or the Conservative's, or is it you think there are two David Cameron's, one for each. Allthough the David Cameron I know of certainly has an ego big enough for both the Tory Party and the Conservative Party, note the big "C" perhaps I should have put a small "c" what do you think?.

Hi everybody, please go to the link below and sign my petition to help the elderly. If it gets 100,000 signatures between now and next year, the Government are obliged to discuss the issue.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Thank you.

Ivanhoe wrote:Hi everybody, please go to the link below and sign my petition to help the elderly. If it gets 100,000 signatures between now and next year, the Government are obliged to discuss the issue.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Thank you.

Just signed your petition Ivanhoe, I hope that you get your discussion.

Redflag wrote:

Ivanhoe wrote:Hi everybody, please go to the link below and sign my petition to help the elderly. If it gets 100,000 signatures between now and next year, the Government are obliged to discuss the issue.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Thank you.

Just signed your petition Ivanhoe, I hope that you get your discussion.

Thanks Redflag. Pass it round to friends and family. It needs 100,000 signatures for Government to discuss on the media. Our elderly people have been ignored for over 30 years by the media, and the British public at large.

Ivanhoe wrote:

Redflag wrote:

Ivanhoe wrote:Hi everybody, please go to the link below and sign my petition to help the elderly. If it gets 100,000 signatures between now and next year, the Government are obliged to discuss the issue.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Thank you.

Just signed your petition Ivanhoe, I hope that you get your discussion.

Thanks Redflag. Pass it round to friends and family. It needs 100,000 signatures for Government to discuss on the media. Our elderly people have been ignored for over 30 years by the media, and the British public at large.

I would take you up on that Ivanhoe, after all it was the Labour party that brought in the minimum wage working credits and for the OAPs of the UK the cold wither payment which the Tories have cut, and allowed the big 6 to put up there prices WILLY-NILLY.

Redflag, that wasnt the Labour party or a Labour Government. That was New Labour who embraced Thatcherism. Under New Labour we didnt get traditionl Labour's fair spread of wealth or fair taxation, and we definately didnt get State pensions re- linked to male average earnings. We got more and more means testing on the same inflation lined State pension.

blueturando wrote:Hi Frances...this is what I found out, but no mention of an interpreter

You will be treated on the same basis as a resident of Spain. Remember, each country’s health system is different and might not include all the things you would expect to get free of charge from the NHS. This may mean that you have to make a patient contribution to the cost of your care. You may be able to seek reimbursement for this cost when you are back in the UK.

Or take out health Insurance before you go on holiday that would be the wisest thing to do more so now that Spain can not afford to give the Spanish health care.

" .... they are too busy treating an illness instead of preventing one."

A description applying equally to much of British business just now. A pal of mine with his own small repairs workshop describes his current business plan as "constantly fighting brushfires".

So now there is something new to worry about. Speaking English can impoverish your old age ............

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The government needs to make social care access easier for those who need it, not harder.
 
Article by Carl Packman:-
 
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]