Bexhill and Battle MP, Huw Merriman, this week called on the Government to address the level of funding being provided to East Sussex County Council. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Merriman highlighted that the county has a “high proportion of elderly residents and low business rate revenue to pay for their care”. Mr Merriman called on the Government to reform the cost of social care arguing that “It is time for the Government to look at a centrally funded social care system, in the same way that we pay for the NHS”.

Speaking in response, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, said "I congratulate East Sussex on its approach to the challenges it faces, including on social care. It is a great place to retire, which leads to changing demographics. That is one of the things that will be looked at by the Green Paper we will publish next summer.”

Speaking after the debate on local government finance, Mr Merriman said “I welcome the extra revenue and powers which are being given to our County Council and Police but there is far too much reliance in our area on council tax payers, who could end up with 6% increases. Not many of us are having our wages go up by anything like this amount. In a coastal county where many retire to, but where businesses do not relocate, we need to either have more Government money to invest in our infrastructure to attract more business or we need a centralised system to cover care costs for the elderly.”

Mr Merriman highlighted the growing concerns which local government financing is causing in the community. "Our county council has saved £110 million from its budget but this is having an impact on our schools, libraries, volunteer care provided by the likes of Alzheimers UK and local road management. Costs of adult social care used to take a third of the County budget. It is now over half. I have spoken before about the need for all political parties to work together to reform the way we charge and fund care for the elderly. To do so would not only unlock more funds for the elderly but free up cash for other areas. It will mean people paying more from their estates but that feels fairer to me than the present system."

You can watch the exchange between Huw and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government here: https://goo.gl/Cv9pMW