That this House welcomes the Right Care Right Deal Campaign launched by Counsel and Care, Carers UK and Help the Aged; notes with concern that two thirds of people in the UK have no plans to put aside any money to fund their social care; further notes that the value of unpaid care for the over 65s together with the cost of privately-funded care is now ??25,000 per older person per year; recalls that 1.9 million disabled people over 65 years receive no state funded care and rely on informal care; recognises that this figure is set to grow to 2.6 million by 2022; further notes with alarm that three in four local authorities only provide care to people whose needs are critical or substantial; and therefore calls on the Government to provide a fair, simple and consistent deal for social care that is simple to understand and access, reaches more people and supports carers and families.

That this House welcomes the Right Care Right Deal Campaign launched by Counsel and Care, Carers UK and Help the Aged; notes with concern that two thirds of people in the UK have no plans to put aside any money to fund their social care; further notes that the value...

That this House condemns the Legal Service Commission's (LSC) recent decision to end all funding of specialist support services in England and Wales from July 2006 despite the outcome of its own review in 2003-04 which recognised the value and importance of specialist support advice, mentoring and training in complex areas of social welfare law for LSC approved agencies working directly with the public; notes that this will mean, in Wales, the end of the Wales Specialist Support Service, which provides expert help and training in housing, welfare benefits and debt, and across England and Wales, the loss of essential advice and training in mental health, community care, employment, HIV/AIDS, immigration and human rights, as well as housing, welfare benefits and debt, provided by acknowledged expert agencies such as the Child Poverty Action Group, Disability Law Service, Citizens Advice, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Liberty, MIND, Shelter, Terrence Higgins Trust and others; further regrets the implications of this cut in funding for vulnerable clients who are not in a position to employ specialist advisers; and calls on the Government to restore funding for specialist support and to strengthen the provision of legal advice for those in the greatest need.

That this House condemns the Legal Service Commission's (LSC) recent decision to end all funding of specialist support services in England and Wales from July 2006 despite the outcome of its own review in 2003-04 which recognised the value and importance of specialist support advice, mentoring and training in complex...