Archbishops call for ‘radical redesign’ of England’s ‘broken’ care system
Archbishops have called for a “radical redesign” of England’s “broken” social care system.
A so-called National Care Covenant, setting out the rights and responsibilities of national and local government, communities, families and citizens should be established, the Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care said.
Published today, it also calls on the government to “set out a long-term commitment to introduce a universal entitlement to care and support” which should be on a par with the NHS.
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The report took 18 months to compile, and it included input from people including unpaid carers, experts and care workers.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said such a covenant would be a “step towards” a position where “everyone is engaged in a collaborative effort to ensure that we can all access the care and support we need”.
The report said: “This will require a means of collective funding and pooling of risk, probably with a tariff of care charges established on a national basis.”
In November, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that social care reforms due to come into effect in October this year would be delayed by two years until 2025.
They include an £86,000 cap on personal care cost contributions, and an expanded means test that is more generous than the existing one.
In their report, the archbishops insisted “piecemeal tinkering with the existing system will not produce the desired result”.
They called for “a radical redesign of the system to make it simple, consistent and person-centred”.
They acknowledged their recommendations will come at a cost, stating that it “cannot be the work of government alone, nor will it be achieved in one parliament”.
Stating that “social care is everybody’s business”, the commission said people should be willing to contribute funding through taxes “so that everyone, regardless of income and wealth, can get care and support”.
The commission has also called for a new deal for unpaid carers, ensuring they are better valued and supported, with adequate recognition, rest and recompense, as well as more investment in communities.
Census data for England and Wales revealed that five million people currently provide unpaid care to people with long-term health conditions or problems related to age.
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Katharine Macy
Katharine Macy is among the five million.
She became a carer for her mum when she was just 10 – helping to cook, clean and organise the household finances.
“It was quite natural to go to school, come home, do things at home then do things like homework – or my own ‘fun’ things,” she said.
Katherine said her role as a carer has always been “at the centre of many things” in her life, which made deciding to study a PHD full time difficult – as it would mean her 80-year-old grandmother picking up the slack.
She is glad she made the decision, and grateful for the support of her family, but said she still deals with “a lot of guilt and a lot of tears because you would do anything for the people you love”.
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‘£8bn package for health and social care’
Mr Welby said: “This report gives me hope that we can rise to the challenge of fixing our broken social care system.”
Commission chairwoman Dr Anna Dixon said: “This is no time for tinkering around the edges of a social care system that for too long has left people who draw on care and support feeling marginalised, carers feeling exhausted and undervalued, a system which provides no clarity about what is expected of each of us.
“A National Care Covenant, with its focus on the mutual responsibilities, will help us to work together towards our common goal.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We are committed to working with a range of stakeholders on how best to improve adult social care and we have made up to £7.5bn available over the next two years to support services – the biggest funding increase in history.”
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China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
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Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
World
Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada – in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India
Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a temple by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, on 18 June 2023.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner David Teboul said police could not comment on the nature of the evidence or the motive.
“This matter is very much under active investigation,” Teboul said.
The three suspects – Indian nationals Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said: “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”
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Canada killing ‘linked’ to India govt
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India when he said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing. India angrily denied involvement.
Mr Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a leader in what remains of the Khalistan movement – a once-strong group calling for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland.
He was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death and had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its power but is still supported by some in the Punjab state in northwestern India and in the Sikh diaspora overseas.
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A violent, decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, and was ultimately crushed in a government crackdown which saw thousands of people killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
In June 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had taken refuge.
In more recent years, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
Read more: What is the Khalistan movement?
Mr Trudeau’s accusation angered India PM Narendra Modi. File pic: AP
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The diplomatic row saw diplomats expelled by both India and Canada.
The Indian government said it “completely rejected” Mr Trudeau’s allegations and added: “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”
The dispute derailed trade talks between the two countries and ultimately saw Canada withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India.
At the time, Canada did not provide public evidence to back up Mr Trudeau’s allegations. However, it did reveal the claims were based on intelligence provided by a major ally and surveillance of Indian diplomats in the country.
Heavy rains in southern Brazil have killed 37 people, local authorities have said, with dozens still unaccounted for.
More than 70 people are missing and at least 23,000 people have been displaced in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the state’s civil defence agency.
In some cities, water levels have been at their highest since records began almost 150 years ago, the Brazilian Geological Service said.
It said the flooding is the worst to hit the state in more than 80 years, surpassing that of a historic deluge in 1941.
Roads have been turned into rivers in several towns, with bridges destroyed and the storm triggering landslides and the partial collapse of a dam structure at a hydroelectric power plant.
A drone view of Lajeado in Rio Grande do Sul. Pic: Jeff Botega/Agencia RBS via Reuters
Residents near to a second dam in the city of Bento Goncalves have been ordered to evacuate, as fears of another collapse grow.
“It’s not just another critical situation, it’s probably the most critical case the state has ever recorded,” Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said on social media.
He added the number of deaths will likely rise as authorities have not been able to reach some locations.
A birds-eye view of the flooding in Sao Sebastiao do Cai, in Rio Grande do Sul. Pic: AP
The devastation in Lajaedo. Pic: Jeff Botega/Agencia RBS via Reuters
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has travelled to the state to visit affected locations and discuss rescue efforts with the governor.
The state is at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created periods of intense rains and others of drought.
Scientists believe the pattern has been intensifying due to climate change.
Roads have been turned into rivers in several towns. Pic: AP
Heavy rains hit the state last September, as an extratropical cyclone caused floods that killed more than 50 people.
That came after more than two years of a persistent drought due to the La Nina phenomenon.
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