NATIONAL CARE HOMES ASSOCIATION LOBBY OF PARLIAMENT

That this House congratulates the National Care Homes Association for organising, on behalf of the long-term care sector, the lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 10th March, which seeks to bring to the attention of honourable Members, the Government and the public the continued crisis in long-term care and the impact this is having on vulnerable elderly people in our communities; supports the lobby and calls on the Government to heed the advice and concerns of those participating; is concerned that, since 1997, over 70,000 care home places have been lost, often due to the introduction of more and more over-prescriptive and centrally-driven bureaucratic regulations; is further concerned that although some of these regulations have been revoked, for many it was too little too late; notes that we all want to see the very highest quality of care for our elderly citizens, but recognise that this cannot be achieved by Whitehall dogmatically enforcing arbitrary and uniform regulations upon care homes up and down the country; and wishes the National Care Homes Association, everyone involved in the organisation of the lobby, and all participants, every success.