Opposition Day
Care and Carers Update
On Tuesday I got the opportunity to ask ministers from the Department for Health and Social Care whether they agreed with me that fixing social care would alleviate pressure on our hospitals. This was one of the key messages that came out of a meeting in Brighton with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine last month. When people aren’t having their care needs met at home it isn’t surprising that they get poorly. They then present in Emergency Departments, and need hospital care to help get them well enough to go home. You can read the minister’s response here.
I think that Labour accept the link between social care and the NHS, but as yet, they haven’t been forthcoming about how they are going to get to grips with the crisis in social care. I don’t think that the NHS will be able to successfully reform without seeing the social care system as part of the solution.
A Liberal Democrat Opposition Day
Wednesday was the first Liberal Democrat Opposition Day for fifteen years. Most of the time, the parliamentary agenda is set by the government, but opposition days allow the second and third largest parties to choose the subject for debate. We chose to focus upon access to primary healthcare services, and the Carer’s Allowance Scandal. I am going to say more about the debate on Thursday in my weekly column for the Middy. If in the meantime you would like to watch the debate, and listen to what I said when I closed the debate for the Lib Dems, then you can watch it on ParliamentLive.TV. The debate opens with Ed Davey at 12.45.46, and I speak at 15:10:23.
Rural Crime
At the weekend, I was door knocking in Fulking. Nestled at the foot of the South Downs it is one of the most southerly villages in Mid Sussex. It’s idyllic with a great pub, but I know from years spent attending the parish council meetings of our Downland villages that small rural communities face their challenges too. Residents told me about flooding, the lack of a bus service and the choice between car dependency and isolation. I also know that rural crime presents a unique set of challenges. I was pleased to be able to speak to Police this week who work in Rural Crime units about the work that they do. From machinery theft, to fly-tipping to trespassing, it is important that people in rural parts of Sussex know that the Police are there to support them when they need it.
Getting in touch
My parliamentary email address is: alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk. If you need my help, please get in touch and I will do my best to help. I am so pleased that some of my team have now started working for me, but whilst we work through the backlog I am sorry that response times are still not as quick as I want them to be.
Best wishes,
Alison
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