EDM 858: Social care day of action

That this House notes the unprecedented decision of social care providers to protest outside Parliament; believes this must be a wake-up call for the Government on the disastrous state of adult social care; echoes their plea to save the sector from total collapse; further notes that inadequate social care accounts for one in every eight hospital beds currently occupied; regrets the years of neglect under the last Conservative Government, which saw elderly and disabled people left without care, families at breaking point and an NHS on its knees; further regrets the self defeating and foolish national insurance rise, which will see carers laid off and care homes shut their doors; regrets the decision to postpone cross party social care talks on the basis of scheduling conflicts; urges the Government to ensure the cross party commission finishes its work within a year, so that vital reforms can be implemented to bring social care back from the brink, recognise carers and promote their professional development, recruit more carers to address shortages, and properly support unpaid and family carers; and calls on the Government to recognise that this challenge, which touches on the lives of every family in the country, is of existential importance for our NHS, and for the care, comfort and dignity of all across our country.