Houghton and Sunderland South MP, Bridget Phillipson has supported AGE UK’s campaign for a better, more affordable and fairer social care system.

Currently there are 2 million older people in England with care-related needs and many are expected to pay up to £20,000 in care costs.

According to AGE UK, there is a serious underspend on older people’s social care while the numbers of people aged over 85, the age group who are most likely to need care, has increased by over 250,000 since 2004-05. These numbers are predicted to rise further throughout the coming decade.

Bridget met in Parliament constituents Linda Vickers and Sheila Ferris who are also campaigning for a change to social care.

Commenting after the meeting, Bridget said:

“It was great to meet Linda and Sheila who are working hard campaigning for a social care system which meets the needs of users.

“It’s because our NHS works hard to keep us healthy, life expectancy is continuing to rise. This makes Adult Social Care an ever important issue to get right.

“We need a social care system which is affordable to both government and to users, treats people with dignity and is fair – that’s exactly what AGE UK is campaigning for and why I’m supporting their work.”

Photo: Bridget Phillipson with constituents Linda Vickers and Sheila Ferris