The Chancellor, George Osborne, laughed through his Autumn Statement as he revealed that he was borrowing more than £200 billion more than he set out 2 years ago, that the economy would contract this year and that austerity would be extended to the next 6 years. He delivered one of the worst economic outlooks that a Chancellor has ever had to reveal and a stark reminder that his economic plan to balance the books by 2015 has completely failed.

In her regular Leicester Mercury article Leicester West MP, Liz Kendall, details that there is another way and that it doesn’t have to be like this by having a bankers bonus tax to fund a youth work programme, using the 4G spectrum auction fee to build new houses and a tough new energy regulator to bring down prices. Labour also backs a properly funded British Business Bank to get much needed funds to back growth and investment.

Leicester West MP, Liz Kendall, backs the Leicester Economic Action Plan recently launched by City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby. In her latest Leicester Mercury article she outlines concerns by the FSB of the continuing difficultly in getting finance for small businesses. In the run-up to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the Government needs to doing much more to get banks lending and supporting businesses.

Read Liz’s article in the Leicester Mercury.

Leicester West MP, Liz Kendall, has been given the responsibility by the Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham of leading Labour’s policy review on the NHS. In this speech to the Managers in Partnership Annual Conference, Liz sets out a vision for future health and social care. Read her speech here on her blog.

On Thursday 19^th January, Liz Kendall MP, Andy Burnham MP (Shadow Health Secretary) and other members of Labour’s Health Team are visiting the East Midlands to shadow NHS frontline staff and then hold a ‘Drop the Bill’ rally.

The event will take place at 4pm in Leicester. Full details will be sent once you have registered to attend the event.

To register please email vicky_street@labour.org.uk. Places are limited so please register by 12pm Wednesday 18 January.

This event is also open to non-members, so if you have any family or friends who work in healthcare or know of someone who has an interest in the future of the NHS then please pass this onto them and ask them if they would like to join us.

We would like to invite you to this public event to show our opposition to the Government’s Health and Social Care Bill alongside NHS Staff and Trade Unions.

Nye Bevan famously said that there would be an NHS “for as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it”. That fight is now upon us.

P.S Don’t forget to sign the petition to Drop the Bill – http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22670

A new survey of care provided by local councils, published today by Labour, reveals shocking increases and wide disparities in charges for services for vulnerable elderly and disabled people.

Councils are increasing charges for:

• home care: the average hourly charge is now £13.49, a rise of 6% since 2009/10
• meals on wheels: the average charge is now £3.44 per meal, a rise of 13%
• transport: for example to day centres: the average charge for a journey is now £2.32, a rise of 33%

These increases mean the average yearly cost for an older or disabled person who pays for 10 hours of home care a week is now £7,015 a year.

Older or disabled people who also get meals on wheels every day now pay an average of £8,271 a year.

With transport charges to go to a day centre three times a week an older or disabled person now pays £8,633 per year.

There are huge differences in the price people pay for care, depending on where they live. This ranges from free home care in Tower Hamlets to care costing £20.34 per hour in Cheshire East. This means an older or disabled person in Cheshire East receiving 10 hours of care per week could be liable for charges up to £10,577 per year when they would receive free home care in Tower Hamlets.
Some councils limit the weekly costs people are required to pay, ranging from a cap of £105 per week in Hackney to £900 per week in Brighton and Hove.

Four out of ten Councils who had a cap in 2009/10 have increased it, and another four out of ten have abolished caps on charges altogether, leaving people to face all the costs of their care.

The survey also indicates that the number of vulnerable older and disabled people receiving services free of charge has dropped significantly, by more than 15% since 2009/10.

Liz Kendall MP, Shadow Minister for Care and Older People, said:

“These increases in home care charges for older and disabled people are a stealth tax on the most vulnerable people in society.

"More people are having to pay more for vital services such as help getting up, washed and dressed, meals on wheels, and transport to day centres. These services are a lifeline for older and disabled people and are crucial in helping them live independently in their own homes.

"And the huge variations in the costs of care across the country mean elderly and disabled people face a post-code lottery, through no fault of their own.

“The Conservative-led Government is out of touch with the growing crisis in care.

"Their brutal cuts to funding for local council services for older people – £1.3 billion already this Parliament – are pushing up charges and placing an even greater burden on the people who most need help.

"David Cameron must act urgently to tackle the care crisis now. And he must engage in serious cross party talks about how we can secure a fair and sustainable way to fund social care in the future."

See Liz Kendall on BBC News talking about these findings.