Category: news

Ministers in England must not shy away from finding more money to fix the “broken” social care system, the head of an independent review says.

Next week Andrew Dilnot will recommend an overhaul of the support given to the elderly and adults with disabilities.

He said he wanted to create a system where no-one pays any more than they do now – and some pay a lot less.

But he conceded it would require more funding from the government to work – albeit a relatively small amount.

His comments come amid signs the government is concerned about committing extra money at a time when many budgets are being cut.

At the moment, the support provided by councils is means-tested so that anyone with assets over £23,250 has to pay for all the costs of their care.

It means that thousands of people a year are forced to sell their homes when they go into a care home.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the publication of the Commission on Funding Care and Support’s report on Monday, Mr Dilnot said the system was now “broken” after being left largely untouched for 70 years.

“This is the only major risk people face where there is no sharing of risks.

“Our health care needs, the consequences of having a car crash, the consequences of having your house burn down – all of those are covered either by the state or private sector.

“Here the state doesn’t cover you and the private sector won’t cover you so people are exposed to a very large risk with nothing they can do about it.”

He said the situation was leaving people “frightened”.

Mr Dilnot is widely expected to recommend a cap – perhaps as much as £50,000 – on the amount the individual pays so that those who face extremely high costs do not end up losing everything.

He refused to confirm that, but said such a system would not leave anybody worse off.

“Nobody would pay more than they do at the moment. If you are one of those with very high care costs then the high part of that would be taken away by the state. If you are someone who has low care costs then you would pay them just as you would at the moment.”

He warned the government it had to be prepared to pay more.

Earlier this week care services minister Paul Burstow suggested the reaction to the recommendations could be “lukewarm” – the Treasury is thought to have some misgivings about more funding.

Spending on social care tops £14bn a year at the moment – around an eighth of what the NHS gets. A cap of £50,000 would leave the state having to find an estimated £2bn a year.

But Mr Dilnot does not believe this should be a problem.

“I think there is no doubt to make this system better we are going to have to pay more. It does need more resource, but at the moment the amount we spend on this is rather small.”

A spokeswoman for the Treasury said no decisions had been taken.

She added: “Once we have received the report, we will consider its findings and welcome continued constructive engagement from all stakeholders.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The BBC’s Alexandra Mackenzie reports on what police say was “significant disorder” in east Belfast following a “mini Twelfth” parade on Friday night.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The BBC’s Alexandra Mackenzie reports on what police say was “significant disorder” in east Belfast following a “mini Twelfth” parade on Friday night.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A new play that tells the story of film-makers shooting a movie about Julian Assange’s life has just opened in Sydney.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Plans to house ex-offenders in a former nursing home in Llanelli which sparked a protest will not go ahead.

Around 300 people protested, some taking their sofas into the street, after the St Elli nursing home on Queen Victoria Road was identified as a site.

Swansea-based charity Caer Las said it had lost out in its bid for the building.

Protesters welcomed the news but said they were concerned the hostel would open at another residential location.

They are staging another public meeting on Wednesday.

Queen Victoria Road resident Catrina Waldron said: “We are very relieved about it.

“We thought it was an inappropriate location and too big.

“We had a lot of support from throughout Llanelli so we don’t think it would be fare for us to back off until we have transparency from Carmarthenshire council.”

She said they wanted assurances that residents living near any new proposed site would be informed and consulted as they were concerned no planning permission was needed.

She said council officers had been invited to attend Wednesday’s meeting at the Selwyn Samuel Centre at 1830 BST.

Last Sunday people protested outside the nursing home – some carrying their sofas into the road.

Andrew Templeton, head of human resources at Caer Las, said: “Our bid to purchase the former St Elli nursing home was unsuccessful due to another bidder being in a better position to complete in a shorter time frame.

“The site would have provided temporary accommodation and support to ex-offenders to help them reintegrate back into mainstream society and turn their lives around.”

Carmarthenshire council’s head housing, Robin Staines, confirmed officers could not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

“We are keen to meet with residents to discuss their concerns and have offered to meet with representatives of the residents’ group in the near future,” he added.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A new play that tells the story of film-makers shooting a movie about Julian Assange’s life has just opened in Sydney.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will continue their official tour of Canada with a visit to the province of Quebec.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will continue their official tour of Canada with a visit to the province of Quebec.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A roadside bomb has killed at least 11 members of a family of Afghan refugees returning home from Pakistan through Zabul province.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Ministers in England must not shy away from finding more money to fix the “broken” social care system, the head of an independent review says.

Next week Andrew Dilnot will recommend an overhaul of the support given to the elderly and adults with disabilities.

He said he wanted to create a system where no-one pays any more than they do now – and some pay a lot less.

But he conceded it would require more funding from the government to work – albeit a relatively small amount.

His comments come amid signs the government is concerned about committing extra money at a time when many budgets are being cut.

At the moment, the support provided by councils is means-tested so that anyone with assets over £23,250 has to pay for all the costs of their care.

It means that thousands of people a year are forced to sell their homes when they go into a care home.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the publication of the Commission on Funding Care and Support’s report on Monday, Mr Dilnot said the system was now “broken” after being left largely untouched for 70 years.

“This is the only major risk people face where there is no sharing of risks.

“Our health care needs, the consequences of having a car crash, the consequences of having your house burn down – all of those are covered either by the state or private sector.

“Here the state doesn’t cover you and the private sector won’t cover you so people are exposed to a very large risk with nothing they can do about it.”

He said the situation was leaving people “frightened”.

Mr Dilnot is widely expected to recommend a cap – perhaps as much as £50,000 – on the amount the individual pays so that those who face extremely high costs do not end up losing everything.

He refused to confirm that, but said such a system would not leave anybody worse off.

“Nobody would pay more than they do at the moment. If you are one of those with very high care costs then the high part of that would be taken away by the state. If you are someone who has low care costs then you would pay them just as you would at the moment.”

He warned the government it had to be prepared to pay more.

Earlier this week care services minister Paul Burstow suggested the reaction to the recommendations could be “lukewarm” – the Treasury is thought to have some misgivings about more funding.

Spending on social care tops £14bn a year at the moment – around an eighth of what the NHS gets. A cap of £50,000 would leave the state having to find an estimated £2bn a year.

But Mr Dilnot does not believe this should be a problem.

“I think there is no doubt to make this system better we are going to have to pay more. It does need more resource, but at the moment the amount we spend on this is rather small.”

A spokeswoman for the Treasury said no decisions had been taken.

She added: “Once we have received the report, we will consider its findings and welcome continued constructive engagement from all stakeholders.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Ministers in England must not shy away from finding more money to fix the “broken” social care system, the head of an independent review says.

Next week Andrew Dilnot will recommend an overhaul of the support given to the elderly and adults with disabilities.

He said he wanted to create a system where no-one pays any more than they do now – and some pay a lot less.

But he conceded it would require more funding from the government to work – albeit a relatively small amount.

His comments come amid signs the government is concerned about committing extra money at a time when many budgets are being cut.

At the moment, the support provided by councils is means-tested so that anyone with assets over £23,250 has to pay for all the costs of their care.

It means that thousands of people a year are forced to sell their homes when they go into a care home.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the publication of the Commission on Funding Care and Support’s report on Monday, Mr Dilnot said the system was now “broken” after being left largely untouched for 70 years.

“This is the only major risk people face where there is no sharing of risks.

“Our health care needs, the consequences of having a car crash, the consequences of having your house burn down – all of those are covered either by the state or private sector.

“Here the state doesn’t cover you and the private sector won’t cover you so people are exposed to a very large risk with nothing they can do about it.”

He said the situation was leaving people “frightened”.

Mr Dilnot is widely expected to recommend a cap – perhaps as much as £50,000 – on the amount the individual pays so that those who face extremely high costs do not end up losing everything.

He refused to confirm that, but said such a system would not leave anybody worse off.

“Nobody would pay more than they do at the moment. If you are one of those with very high care costs then the high part of that would be taken away by the state. If you are someone who has low care costs then you would pay them just as you would at the moment.”

He warned the government it had to be prepared to pay more.

Earlier this week care services minister Paul Burstow suggested the reaction to the recommendations could be “lukewarm” – the Treasury is thought to have some misgivings about more funding.

Spending on social care tops £14bn a year at the moment – around an eighth of what the NHS gets. A cap of £50,000 would leave the state having to find an estimated £2bn a year.

But Mr Dilnot does not believe this should be a problem.

“I think there is no doubt to make this system better we are going to have to pay more. It does need more resource, but at the moment the amount we spend on this is rather small.”

A spokeswoman for the Treasury said no decisions had been taken.

She added: “Once we have received the report, we will consider its findings and welcome continued constructive engagement from all stakeholders.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

University leaders in Wales have signalled they will cooperate with proposals to halve the number of Welsh institutions.

Higher Education Wales (HEW), which represents 12 universities, has agreed they need “fewer but stronger”.

But HEW said any mergers should be for the particular university governing bodies to decide.

The Welsh Government has welcomed HEW’s “positive statement”.

Professor Noel Lloyd, chair of Higher Education Wales and vice chancellor of Aberystwyth University, told BBC Wales HE institutions had to become as efficient as possible.

“We have this hugely competitive environment and we have to be as a sector as strong as possible to deliver to our utmost abilility in Wales,” he said.

“That means taking a strongly strategic approach to future development.”

Last December Education Minister Leighton Andrews warned universities that they must “adapt or die”.

His comments came after an assembly government sponsored body, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), said the number of institutions should be reduced to make the sector sustainable.

HEFCW, which is responsible for administering funds from the Welsh Government for higher education institutions, said by 2013 distribution should reflect regional needs with no more than two institutions in each region.

Wales had 15 higher education institutions in 2000, including the Open University in Wales.

Following an alliance between the University of Glamorgan and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the merger of the Wales College of Medicine and Cardiff University, and the merger between Trinity University College, Carmarthen and University of Wales, Lampeter, it currently has 12.

On Friday, HEW committee members agreed the “challenges facing higher education are of an unprecedented nature” and said “we have to move fast in order to meet these challenges”.

They said: “In this changed environment we are working with the approach of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Welsh Government on the size and shape of the university sector.”

Universities UK, the representative body for universities across the UK, welcomed “the leadership being shown by colleagues in Wales”.

President Professor Sir Steve Smith said: “The direction of travel set out in this statement is unmistakable.

“This is clearly a significant statement of intent from the body representing Wales’ university leaders.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We welcome HEW’s positive statement, their recognition of the need for fewer, stronger and more successful universities and their commitment to reconfiguration for the benefit of the Welsh higher education sector.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Plans to house ex-offenders in a former nursing home in Llanelli which sparked a protest will not go ahead.

Around 300 people protested, some taking their sofas into the street, after the St Elli nursing home on Queen Victoria Road was identified as a site.

Swansea-based charity Caer Las said it had lost out in its bid for the building.

Protesters welcomed the news but said they were concerned the hostel would open at another residential location.

They are staging another public meeting on Wednesday.

Queen Victoria Road resident Catrina Waldron said: “We are very relieved about it.

“We thought it was an inappropriate location and too big.

“We had a lot of support from throughout Llanelli so we don’t think it would be fare for us to back off until we have transparency from Carmarthenshire council.”

She said they wanted assurances that residents living near any new proposed site would be informed and consulted as they were concerned no planning permission was needed.

She said council officers had been invited to attend Wednesday’s meeting at the Selwyn Samuel Centre at 1830 BST.

Last Sunday people protested outside the nursing home – some carrying their sofas into the road.

Andrew Templeton, head of human resources at Caer Las, said: “Our bid to purchase the former St Elli nursing home was unsuccessful due to another bidder being in a better position to complete in a shorter time frame.

“The site would have provided temporary accommodation and support to ex-offenders to help them reintegrate back into mainstream society and turn their lives around.”

Carmarthenshire council’s head housing, Robin Staines, confirmed officers could not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

“We are keen to meet with residents to discuss their concerns and have offered to meet with representatives of the residents’ group in the near future,” he added.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Plans to house ex-offenders in a former nursing home in Llanelli which sparked a protest will not go ahead.

Around 300 people protested, some taking their sofas into the street, after the St Elli nursing home on Queen Victoria Road was identified as a site.

Swansea-based charity Caer Las said it had lost out in its bid for the building.

Protesters welcomed the news but said they were concerned the hostel would open at another residential location.

They are staging another public meeting on Wednesday.

Queen Victoria Road resident Catrina Waldron said: “We are very relieved about it.

“We thought it was an inappropriate location and too big.

“We had a lot of support from throughout Llanelli so we don’t think it would be fare for us to back off until we have transparency from Carmarthenshire council.”

She said they wanted assurances that residents living near any new proposed site would be informed and consulted as they were concerned no planning permission was needed.

She said council officers had been invited to attend Wednesday’s meeting at the Selwyn Samuel Centre at 1830 BST.

Last Sunday people protested outside the nursing home – some carrying their sofas into the road.

Andrew Templeton, head of human resources at Caer Las, said: “Our bid to purchase the former St Elli nursing home was unsuccessful due to another bidder being in a better position to complete in a shorter time frame.

“The site would have provided temporary accommodation and support to ex-offenders to help them reintegrate back into mainstream society and turn their lives around.”

Carmarthenshire council’s head housing, Robin Staines, confirmed officers could not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

“We are keen to meet with residents to discuss their concerns and have offered to meet with representatives of the residents’ group in the near future,” he added.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A roadside bomb has killed at least 11 members of a family of Afghan refugees returning home from Pakistan through Zabul province.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.