JLC organises social care roundtable with shadow minister Kendall

Shadow social care minister Liz Kendall MP has taken part in a communal roundtable event organised by the Jewish Leadership Council at which the challenge of caring for an ageing population was a particular focus of concern.

Five members of the JLC attended the talks – Daniel Carmel Brown (Jewish Care), Richard Franklin (Kisharon), Neil Taylor (Langdon), Naomi Dickson (Norwood), Jenny Pattinson (Nightingale Hammerson) – which also included discussion on social care funding, supporting those with disabilities and the value of Jewish cultural provision.

Dickson, Norwood’s chief executive, later said:‘It was a pleasure to meet Liz today and I appreciated a chance to tell her about the vital person-centred support Norwood offers to members of the Jewish community with learning disabilities autism, enabling them to live full and fulfilling lives at the heart of the community.

“Like many other social care providers we are experiencing tough times, having emerged from a very difficult pandemic period and with the cost of living having bitten hard.

“I shared with Liz our proactive response which has seen the charity increase our support worker pay rate by over 12.7%, well over the minimum wage level in order to better support our staff, which further adds to our fundraising need.

“Our conversation today also covered ideas around the modernisation of commissioning practices and ensuring that social care remains high on the political agenda.”

Kendall, the Labour MP for Leicester West, and a strong critic of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, said she was “delighted” to learn more about the work of the JLC members, and they challenges they faced.

She added:” “Millions of older and disabled people are without the care and support they need.

This is bad for them and their families and it’s bad for taxpayers too, as more people end up with worse health and needing more expensive hospital or residential care.

“Labour will tackle record vacancies through a new deal for care workers, and fundamentally shift the focus of health and care to prevention and early intervention, so that more people can be cared for in their own home which is where they want to be.”

Following the meeting Leo Brosh, the JLC’s east midlands manager, said:” Jewish care providers have been doing outstanding work since before the creation of the welfare state so providing the space to magnify this work, whilst preparing for the future was thoroughly valuable. We look forward to continuing to engage with Liz and Labour’s Health and Social Care team to build on conversations started today.”