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Today I met with care services in Leicester and family carers to discuss what needs to be done to make sure all carers receive the support they need. We discussed what help is needed to identify carers, the additional respite breaks and support they need, and what institutional changes are needed to enable carers can help their loved ones.
If you have any experiences with unpaid care and would like to share them, please email me on liz.kendall.mp {at} parliament(.)uk.
I chaired a meeting of the Feeding Leicester board this morning. We discussed the impact that coronavirus has had on food poverty, and how we can learn lessons from the pandemic.
We also heard about how the Holiday Food Programme has helped families in Leicester.
Feeding Leicester are working towards ending food poverty in the city. They do this by improving access to affordable healthy food, and challenging the causes of food poverty.
I spoke to Sky News on Wednesday about Labour’s plans for social care, and the comments made at Prime Minister’s Questions on social care.
While the Government’s new social care winter plan includes some welcome announcements, the real test of this plan is whether the Government delivers on weekly testing of all care staff.
Ensuring families can visit their loved ones is also critical, as without this care home residents can end up fading fast.
Watch my comments on Sky News.
This month’s column focuses on the fantastic work carried out by food banks in Leicester. I visited Christ the King Food Bank and Woodgate Community Food on National Food Bank Day, and spoke to them about the issues they’ve seen during lockdown.
The number of people claiming Universal Credit has doubled since lockdown began, and one in three employees in Leicester has been put on furlough. I am worried about what will happen as winter approaches and when the Government’s furlough scheme ends.
No one should have to rely on a food bank, and the Government need to do more to support families who count on them.
I have written to Matt Hancock urging the Government to put a winter plan in place for social care, covering five key areas:
- A guarantee that weekly, rapid testing of care staff will take place.
- Ensuring all care workers get the PPE they need.
- Urgent additional support for families and support for families to be able to safely visit care homes.
- Care homes should be supported by the NHS.
- Social care must have the additional resources it needs throughout the winter and beyond.
Coronavirus has taken an unimaginable toll on elderly and disabled people, and their families. Reports that infection rates are beginning to rise again in care homes is a matter of serious concern, and it is now vital that the Government puts in place a clear winter plan to support social care. Users, families and staff need to know that social care will be a top priority in the months ahead and we cannot afford for action to protect care homes and other services to be as slow and chaotic as it was at the start of this pandemic.
Read the full letter here.
