and fixing the crisis in social care to stop so many people being stuck in hospital beds.
Liberal Democrats understand that we need to fix social care to save our NHS.
and introducing regular mental health check-ups at key points in people’s lives when they are most vulnerable to mental ill-health.
In addition, we will: Give everyone the right to see a GP or the most appropriate practice staff member within seven days, or within 24 hours if they urgently need to, by:
Guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care by:
Work towards a fairer and more sustainable long-term funding model for pharmacies,
Improve early access to mental health services by: Opening walk-in hubs for children and young people in every community.
Help people spend more years of their life in good health by:
and banning the sale of single-use vapes.
Train, recruit and retain the doctors, nurses and other NHS staff we need, including by:
Fix the life-threatening crisis in our ambulance services by:
and fixing social care as set out in chapter 7.
Create a new ‘Patients Charter’ to harness lived experience of patients and embed patient voice, partnership and safety standards across health and care settings, including:
Harness the benefits of new technology and digital tools for patients by:
Combat the harms caused by drugs by:
Sales will be restricted to over-18s only, from licensed retailers with strict limits on potency and THC content.
and devolving powers for tailored solutions where necessary.
Everyone deserves high-quality care when they need it.
Liberal Democrats want everyone to be able to live independently and with dignity, and receive any care they need in their own home wherever possible.
Carers – paid and unpaid, young and old – do a remarkable and important job.
They deserve far more support, but are too often forgotten and ignored.
But social care services in this country are in crisis.
Hundreds of thousands of people are waiting for care.
Many are stranded in hospital beds because the care isn’t in place for them to leave, putting even more strain on the NHS.
The Conservatives promised to “fix” the crisis in our social care system, that no one would have to sell their house to pay for personal care costs, and that they would not raise taxes to do it.
They have broken all these promises.
We will empower care users,
and support care workers and the millions of unpaid carers looking after loved ones.
We will forge a new consensus on funding to ensure that no one has to sell their home to pay for their personal care.
We will invest to save, recognising that providing care reduces demand on more expensive NHS services.
and introduce a higher Carer’s Minimum Wage.
In addition, we will: Provide truly personalised care that empowers individuals by:
End the postcode lottery of service provision and provide national, high-quality care for everyone who needs it by:
Give unpaid carers a fair deal by:
and requiring employers to make reasonable adjustments to enable employees with caring responsibilities to provide that care.
Make careers in social care more attractive and value experienced staff to improve retention by:
Support people to age well by:
Support children in kinship care and their family carers by:
Liberal Democrats believe that education is the best investment we can make in our children’s potential and our country’s future.
The Conservatives have consistently let down children and parents and neglected schools and colleges.
They have failed to grasp the scale of the damage that the Covid pandemic has done to children’s learning and mental health.
We will invest in education, starting in the crucial early years and continuing throughout adulthood.
We want every child to get the support and attention they need at school, so they leave with the skills, confidence and resilience to be happy and successful – whatever they choose to do next.
Increase school and college funding per pupil above the rate of inflation every year,
and aim to increase them to £10,000 in the future when the public finances allow.
and fully funding those rises every year.
This will draw on best practice such as the International Baccalaureate and ensure children learn core skills such as critical thinking, verbal reasoning and creativity.
starting with a new free entitlement for disadvantaged children.
and schools get the guidance and support they need to improve.
Tackle the crisis in special educational needs provision, and help to end the postcode lottery in provision, by: Giving local authorities extra funding to reduce the amount that schools pay towards the cost of a child’s Education, Health and Care Plan.