State pension plans: Ferrari for Christmas or coal-filled stocking?

by Simon Bottery, Director of Fundraising, Policy and Communications

Everyone can have a Ferarri for Christmas because Santa's going to be more efficient with his elves: this is what we are supposed to believe about the coalition's apparent plans on the state pension. The idea that a higher pension for all can be achieved simply by getting rid of the costs of administering pension credit is, like Santa (look away children), a fantasy. Pension credit may be expensive to administer at around £50 per person, per year, but that amount of saving will barely get you a tank of petrol, let alone a supercar. Clearly the extra money for the superpension has to come from somewhere and until we know where we should avoid the temptation to look for garage space for that Ferrari. Almost as interesting is the question of who gave the story to the Daily Mail last Monday? Lib Dems in an attempt to spread some pre-Christmas cheer (the superpension is the brainchild of LibDem pensions minister Steve Webb)? Or Tories in an attempt to prevent it?

Can we have personalised care in an age of spending cuts?

by Claire Nurden, Research and Policy Officer for Independent Age

I managed to grab myself a seat at one of the most popular fringes at the Liberal Democrat conference relating to older people - “Personalising care: the choices we face”. As a key concept dominating the social care agenda, the subject of personalisation proved popular, with a large number of individuals and organisations flocking in, keen to get involved in the debate.

Concerns about brokerage dominated discussions, with those involved stressing that any right to “choice” must be accompanied by a right not to choose. All agreed that those receiving social care must be given the right amount of support to make the most of the options available to them. The debate also highlighted that any new system will need an increase in funding to ensure the sustainability of a new market place, and to finally make personalisation an effective reality – an interesting prospect given the current political clambering to make spending cuts.

Social care: an opportunity for politicians to improve their image?

by Simon Bottery, Director of Fundraising, Policy and Communications for Independent Age

Yesterday I was at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth for a fringe meeting on social care. Several charities are running these at all the party conferences as part of a bid to make social care a major issue at the next election. It will not be, of course, and most of the speakers seemed resigned to that. It will be health and education - it always is, said Helen Coombs from Ipsos Mori. It will be unemployment, said Baroness Barker, the Lib Dem health spokesperson in the Lords. Social care might just sneak onto the agenda if we work very hard, but if it does not then what happens given that no one can be bothered to put up even the flimsiest defence for the current system? Is it too much to hope that politicians might be prepared to put aside differences and reach a solution, a compromise if necessary, that carries all-party support? Baroness Barker said she hoped there could be an all party 'settlement'. Perhaps there would be few votes in it, but such a show of acting in the national interest would at least win some plaudits from a public with a rather jaded view of politicians. I can't help wondering, though, whether the need to cut public spending generally might mean that reform of social care returns to the back burner simply because there are unlikely to be any savings in it. Quite the opposite. With Help the Aged and Age Concern saying that another £1bn-£2bn needs to be invested but parties of all sides sharpening their knives it may be the worst possible timing to achieve reform.