Latest / The Discussion Podcast / View From The Street: "Selling the House to Survive: Altrincham on the Cost of Elder Care"

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View From The Street: "Selling the House to Survive: Altrincham on the Cost of Elder Care" · The Discussion Podcast

0:00
It is Rod Maxwell on Radio Walthy, the Lidl Lung Show, and as usual on a Monday,
0:04
View from the Street, coming to me live from somewhere in Ultragam,
0:08
is our James. How are you, James?
0:11
Yes, I'm good, thanks, Rod. How are you doing? I'm very well, I'm very well.
0:15
It was another big topic today on View from the Street, wasn't it?
0:20
It was indeed. We're doing social care, well, care home provision.
0:24
Yeah, and it was wider than that, wasn't it?
0:27
But it's social care, but social care can go right across the generations.
0:33
And I guess what we were specifically interested in is the thoughts of people
0:38
around social care provision for the more elderly in society.
0:42
That moment when maybe you can't live independently at home and you need to
0:47
think either about going into residential care or some sort of accommodation like that.
0:52
And what people think about this, because there is this view that often it leads
0:58
to people having to sell their house to be able to afford it,
1:01
which is quite common, I think, really.
1:05
It is quite expensive to do, but there are also some benefits to it in terms
1:12
of being amongst the community, it's your age and.
1:17
The way that you interact better maybe in those sort of settings.
1:23
But it's a minefield, James, isn't it?
1:27
It is, yeah, because there's so many different angles and as well as one aspect
1:33
is the cost of it. Is it something that everyone can afford?
1:37
Is it something that can be capped? Is it something the government can contribute to?
1:42
And we didn't go into this, but what about the.
1:48
Standard of carers? Is that an issue? Is there enough carers?
1:52
There are so many issues.
1:54
Yeah, and I guess one of the benefits today is that there's a range of different
1:59
ways in which people can be looked after in their older age,
2:03
you know, when they get to a point where they need support.
2:07
And, of course, that can happen at different ages, but, you know,
2:10
there is that support in the home if you want to be at home.
2:14
You can get support both for mealtimes and other parts of care at home.
2:19
There's going into residential homes as well, or there's going into sort of
2:24
almost like little villages of communities where you can also be supported.
2:33
Sorry, James. Oh, no, someone was in. I have to say that. Excuse me.
2:39
There definitely is a lot more options today, but with that has come a lot more cost as well.
2:47
Exactly And Like I said earlier It's,
2:51
It's only going up It's only going up over time So it's only becoming More and
2:54
more expensive So It's a real issue And I am I don't want to spoil The Vox Pops No spoilers But,
3:03
I do wonder whether rather than the government waiting three years and to bring out,
3:11
care reports, which is good to make a new overview study of it,
3:15
I think, personally, but if they already have some ideas of the problems,
3:19
then they probably need to get started on what they already know are existing problems.
3:25
It is a considerable, it's one of many big topics that the government faces at the moment.
3:33
It's a burning issue because we have got a population which is getting older,
3:40
living longer, because we have better health standards than we had in the past.
3:46
And with that also comes a need for us to respect the way people want to live
3:51
their lives at all ages, including those who are more elderly, and to,
3:58
also allow them to enjoy their lives right to the very end, really, if that makes sense.
4:06
So, well, the government have a responsibility, a duty of care to look after people and its people.
4:13
So, especially when you think about it, these people have been paying taxes
4:17
their whole life for the government to look after them. So, it's important.
4:23
I wonder, James, just on that point, whether the government does have that Judea care anymore.
4:30
Because so much of the provision, the cost of social care for older generations,
4:39
actually falls on them rather than falls on the states, if you like.
4:44
Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but not everyone can afford it.
4:48
And also, like we mentioned earlier, if the money runs out um so and also that,
4:55
they're they're charging extortionate amounts so um,
5:00
you know there must be some level of responsibility yeah yeah and and that's
5:04
one of the topics that came up um during the interviews the fox pops today which
5:09
very different actually and we we um,
5:13
we i i on reflection i wish we had asked a few younger people
5:17
um for their opinion just to see if they have
5:21
that they feel a sense of responsibility to looking after um older people in
5:27
in the community but maybe maybe we'll come to that then let's let's um let's
5:31
run the fox pops let's hear what people had to say yes um,
5:37
but when people started talking james it was hard to get them to stop wasn't it,
5:42
it was it's a very complex edit but when i was doing the editing i agree with
5:46
I think I think we should have asked some younger people what they thought because
5:49
that's all that's the whole point of view from the street is everyone has a
5:52
view and we need to see whether those younger people care about it and is it something.
5:59
Well, do you know, I think that this is just part one of a multi-part topic, James.
6:06
But let's run some music, let's run the packages and hear what people had to
6:12
say from the streets of Ultringham today. So, good afternoon,
6:14
Rod. How are you doing today?
6:15
I'm all right. It's slightly dampish.
6:18
I think we've been spoiled with the weather and now suddenly it's a little bit,
6:22
cooler and a little bit damper. But still for October, it's lovely.
6:26
Yeah, I'm not used to this. Normally, when I come here, it's warm and sunny,
6:29
and it's crazy that it's warm and sunny late September, but now it's back to
6:33
being a bit slightly wet and damp, like you said.
6:35
Yeah, it is. It is. But hopefully, the people of Ultringham won't be wet and
6:39
damp in their thoughts on today's topic.
6:42
No, hopefully they're not. Shall I lead off with it? Okay, right.
6:45
So thank you. So today we're going to be doing care home provision based on
6:50
Andy Burnham's recent pledge at the Labour Party Conference stating that he
6:54
wants to have a national care service by 2029.
6:58
So we've got some really good key angles on that, haven't we, Rod?
7:02
Well, I think this comes down to, we're going to specifically look at care for
7:07
the more elderly in the population and look at probably, I think we're asking
7:14
really, is it affordable?
7:16
Is it value for money? Is it clear what's out there?
7:20
What happens when you can't afford it anymore? You know, so it's become a more privatized business.
7:27
And I guess the question is, is there not even a regulation around it?
7:31
So we'll just see what people think today about, you know, care for the elderly,
7:35
because people are selling their houses, their whole inheritance is going on staying in care homes.
7:43
Is that, are they getting value for money really?
7:45
Yeah, and there's definitely difficulties with it, as well as the fact that,
7:50
well, firstly, is there enough support from the government and how will they provide that?
7:56
And the second observation is that Andy Burnham referred to the founding of
8:03
the NHS, which was based off William Beveridge, the civil servant that made
8:08
reports as to the problems.
8:10
So now he's trying to get a very similar, he's trying to do something similar
8:14
now, in the sense he's trying to get civil servants to come up with reasons
8:17
as to why it's failed the last 20, 30, 40, 50 years and how it's been successful.
8:23
And they're hoping to get that in place in three years. That's when it's been started.
8:26
I mean, the challenges are that the NHS or the health service is very broad now in its definition.
8:36
So it goes from anything from physical health to mental health to looking after our elderly.
8:42
And that's a totally different situation to what they were looking at back in
8:45
the 1950s when the NHS was formed.
8:48
But that's a bigger, wider topic than today because today is specifically about, you know,
8:55
have we got enough care for our more elderly population and do they feel confident
9:01
about, you know, planning for that and the affordability of it and the value for money of it?
9:07
Yeah. And I think it's going to be really interesting what people have to say,
9:10
especially maybe their personal anecdotes and their personal experiences.
9:14
Because I know based on my grandparents, they were lucky enough to have had
9:19
good careers and they saved.
9:21
But I have to admit, it was expensive 10 years ago. And I'm sure it's even more expensive now.
9:26
Yeah, it is. But in some ways, it can give people a whole new breadth of life,
9:33
you know, because they're meeting with people in the residential care settings.
9:39
They've got a social life which
9:41
may be sitting on their own in their own houses that they didn't have.
9:44
So there's an awful lot of benefits to it. It's just basically about the affordability
9:49
of it. It's how people plan for it. How do they know how much they're going
9:53
to spend on it? It seems to be...
9:56
It's a whole new sector of care, really. Yeah, and I think it's going to be,
10:02
well, it's something that we've not done before on View From the Streets.
10:04
So my question for you, Rob, would be, in what way do you think today's topic
10:10
and our responses is going to be different to what we normally get?
10:13
I actually think, first of all, this is not a topic that we can ask young people
10:17
because they won't have any idea about it, probably not on their radar.
10:21
And it's actually quite difficult to pin it down. So it may not be clear cut today.
10:26
So we may not get the type of clear responses that we want but let's find out,
10:33
yeah and also we need to see if people,
10:36
understand that the our elderly population need to be cared for too so we need
10:41
to make sure that we raise awareness on that indeed indeed.
10:45
So good afternoon madame today on view from the street on radio waltzy we're
10:48
asking people about the affordability and the fairness of care for our more elderly in society?
10:58
Is it clear what the costs are?
11:00
Is it fair that people might have to sell their own homes to be able to afford it?
11:05
Do we know what we're getting, if you like? Have you got a view on it at all?
11:09
Well, I have an elderly mother who's 90.
11:13
So yes, it is a concern and a worry because she owns her own house and eventually
11:19
maybe we might lose that and her and dad have worked all their lives,
11:25
for that as supposedly going to be a gift for us.
11:30
At the end but it might just go mightn't it so she lucky enough to be able to
11:34
stay at home in the moment yes she's still at home but she's got a lot of medical
11:39
issues and difficulties so we don't know what the future is.
11:44
So i've faced some other thing my mom's now starting to need certain things
11:47
yeah it's almost like uncharted territory isn't it there's not much that can
11:52
prepare you for this in your life there's not no i've really no no
11:57
idea how the future will lie and the cost or anything no you're listening to
12:03
the late late lunch show on radio altie so today on view from the street we're
12:07
talking about care for the elderly
12:10
is it is the process of the pathways clear is it value for money is it consistent
12:15
enough the level of care does it need a bit more regulation and do we actually
12:19
know enough about what it looks like what's your views on it,
12:23
that's a lot of questions i think for a lot of people it is quite confusing
12:29
and they don't really want to approach it it's not something they necessarily plan to do
12:34
you know they may have elderly parents and they live it the elderly parents
12:37
may well live in in their own homes but then suddenly something happens and
12:42
they have a fall they go into hospital
12:46
there's nowhere really for them to come out of hospital again.
12:50
You know, it's like that bed blocker scenario.
12:53
And then the only place possibly for them is either to live with their children,
12:57
which may not be practical, or they need some kind of care. They need some kind of respite.
13:03
And that's where sometimes the issue of care and the costs come into it.
13:08
Now, I think at the moment, it's possible to have the local authority pay for
13:13
care for elderly people.
13:16
Means tested, of course. Means tested. For everybody else,
13:20
It's the fear of what that will involve. In other words, will their parents,
13:25
potentially if they could live for another 10 years in care or something,
13:29
they'll have to sell the house?
13:31
And then what happens if the money runs out? So that's the other issue.
13:35
And that's certainly been a fear in discussions, you know, I've had in the family.
13:39
What happens if your elderly parent or parents, for that matter, go into care?
13:45
You know, you've done your research, might be a nice care home,
13:48
lots of activities, et cetera. But what happens when that money runs out?
13:52
Do they have to go into some other care place? Could it be 20, 30, 40 miles away?
13:59
So I think these are discussions that people are kind of trying to put off,
14:04
really, trying not to discuss it in a family.
14:07
Some family members will say, yeah, well, you know, they need to be in a care home.
14:10
But other people, perhaps, who are a bit more closer to those individuals who,
14:15
still feel a need that they have to care for their elderly parents because that's
14:20
part of their duty, you know, to do that.
14:23
They can't just put their parents in a care home and have other people looking after them.
14:28
So I think it really is probably cause for some kind of national debate and,
14:33
for some kind of system to be in place so that people don't fall through the
14:38
cracks, that they don't get neglected.
14:41
And people are worried. I mean, there are also some people who think,
14:44
well, I'll keep my parents in home for as long as possible because,
14:49
you know, that's my inheritance, you know, from a selfish perspective.
14:53
I certainly don't think that's a possibility in any of the discussions either,
14:56
but some people might think, well, you know...
14:59
You know, that's, yeah, I might need that money further down the line to pay for my own costs.
15:05
So it's finding that balance between, I think, when somebody really does need,
15:10
you know, 24-hour care and giving them still that independence of the ability
15:16
to live in their own home and see their friends and neighbours.
15:21
So at what point that changes, I don't know. The obvious one would be a fall
15:25
or incontinence or, you know, the, the, the, the children for whatever move
15:32
away, they have to move away.
15:34
But, yeah, I mean, it's a cause, I think, for a national discussion.
15:37
So at least Andy Burnham is grasping the nettle, I think.
15:42
And I guess for me personally, I always think that, you know,
15:46
whatever it costs, whatever it needs, if it's good quality and it lengthens
15:53
her life and she can enjoy a nice social time.
15:56
Because as people get older, they get more isolated, don't they? They do, yes.
16:00
And then the other thing is people who haven't worked will still get that care for free, won't they?
16:08
So I feel like sometimes it's penalizing people who have contributed all the lives and saved up.
16:17
Yeah. Do you think there was a nation we understand this enough or even that
16:21
we care enough about our more elderly people?
16:25
Definitely not. so it's you know i'm getting i'm 68 so,
16:31
the future is uncharted isn't it you don't know for the future for myself or
16:36
anyone of our age or generation and we're the caring generation now
16:41
our parents are living older so it is a worry it is bad isn't you reach a stage of your life where you,
16:48
it's you don't know what the future can look like it's when you're working it's
16:52
it's a bit clearer, isn't it?
16:53
Of course it is. Yeah. You contribute in and you think everything will be okay
16:58
when you retire and you don't know.
17:00
You don't seal off the sunset as easily as people think, do you? No.
17:05
You don't. Thank you very much indeed. You're listening to the Late Late Lunch Show on Radio Alty.
17:10
Good afternoon, sir. This is Jay Spencer and Rob Maxwell for View from the Street
17:13
on the Late Late Lunch Show on Radio Alty.
17:15
So today we're doing about social care home provision, and just wanted to know
17:18
whether you have a view on this at all.
17:21
Well, I do believe that the government has let a lot of the public down quite badly over the last,
17:29
couple of decades on this. I seem to remember 15, maybe 20 years ago,
17:34
there was a suggestion that the government might be charging a £10,000 flat
17:39
fee, and then that would cover your care home costs in later years.
17:43
That never happened, of course. I would have been the first to charge forward for that one.
17:47
But I think I'm disappointed that they don't seem to want to get their hands
17:53
dirty with talking about it too much or trying to deal with the problem i know of people,
18:00
i personally know of of somebody who has been very badly let down by the private
18:05
sector despite paying seven eight hundred pounds a week for care,
18:11
and not getting even remotely that kind of the kind of care that you and i would expect from it i mean
18:17
we're more senior in our years right to us and I have to say this is something
18:23
that it's a bit like retirement in itself which is how much do you need how
18:28
much can you afford etc etc.
18:31
And and it does seem like the whole marketplace of private health care private retirement homes etc,
18:38
is all new do you do you think we actually understand it enough about what it
18:43
does cost and you know people having to mortgage their sell their homes etc
18:48
do you think we have enough understanding of it no no i really don't i don't think the government,
18:53
have spelt it out correct not correctly
18:56
i don't think they've spelt it out adequately i don't think they're,
19:00
they're wanting to do that because that's i feel as though that's they might
19:05
feel as though they're sticking their head above the parapet and they'll get
19:07
their head shot off if you know what i mean,
19:09
i think we have to be really careful with with costings.
19:14
Many, many, many people couldn't begin to afford to pay for their own care.
19:18
And at the levels of payment that is necessary for care...
19:22
Can even people who are, let's say, middle class, this is a middle class area,
19:26
Altrincham, generally speaking, can people even at our level afford to pay?
19:32
And yet there's so many benefits from creating these communities of people who
19:36
are of a similar age group, who might have
19:39
more limited mobility, that they actually create their own social lives together
19:44
in a residential or care home sort of facility.
19:49
That can be good for their longer term health. Oh, yes.
19:53
There's no question as we retire, the most important thing is to keep your mind
19:58
active and keep your social mind active, keep interacting with people and talking to people.
20:04
There's no question about that. So I see for people who are on their own,
20:10
particularly care homes are a very good thing when they can't look after themselves
20:15
effectively any longer. I see that as a really good thing.
20:18
What I don't understand myself is how the nation should pay for that.
20:23
Should it be the government?
20:25
Should it be private? If it's private, are we just left to our own devices?
20:30
And if we are, I see that as wrong. we need the government to take a lead and
20:35
show us what we need to do.
20:37
So good afternoon, Madam. We've just been talking about the whole topic of care for our elderly.
20:43
Now, you are very young 80-year-olds, but do you believe that it's clear enough
20:50
about what provision could be out there for people when they reach that point
20:54
in time where they can't look after themselves.
20:59
And they need some support? Do you think it's clear about what's on offer,
21:03
the quality of it, and even the cost of it?
21:07
No, it isn't clear. I think the recent conversations about care,
21:15
it is care within the home, not residential care.
21:19
And I think most people of my age are worried about going into residential care
21:24
because of the terrific costs.
21:26
And actually, there are so many positives for mortally people as they become
21:31
more immobile or are limited in their ability because they get company.
21:38
They are with people because if you're stuck at home and you're not driving
21:42
anymore, you're almost locked in your own world. Whereas if you're in a nice
21:47
residential place, you're meeting people, that can be actually just good for you cognitively. Yeah.
21:52
And that's the contra-argument. I mean, they may well get better fed.
21:57
There's other people there to discuss things with. Usually there's arranged activities. Yeah.
22:05
So I think that's it. I mean, you know, but people are worried about the cost,
22:11
I think. That's the other thing.
22:13
And you and I are about the same age. Do you think? No, no, I'm 67 this month.
22:18
Oh, I tell you what, I credited you to remember.
22:21
But do you think our generation will be any better at planning and having more
22:28
transparency around this than maybe our parents? Not necessarily, no.
22:34
I don't because I think it's is it something you plan for you know you plan
22:39
for your retirement you know you're paying in you're paying national insurance
22:43
and tax and everything but and you and you save maybe you save up,
22:47
you want to but then you think well I want to get to a certain age I want to
22:50
go on holiday I want to do the things that really you should be doing in retirement
22:55
and that's not necessarily looking after your elderly parents,
22:58
because what you find is that you might retire, but then you become that perfect
23:02
sandwich generation when suddenly your children.
23:08
Who may need help in a number of forms, grandchildren, oh, mum,
23:14
dad, oh, right, well, can you have them during this holiday or that holiday?
23:17
And then you get elderly parents.
23:20
You're a sandwich. You're a sandwich. So who would have thought retirement could
23:24
be this complicated, hey? Oh.
23:27
Well, I don't think anybody, I don't anybody, anybody does.
23:32
I think you have all these plans and you maybe get to an age where you really
23:35
don't want to work anymore or your partner's retired and you think, oh, I'll retire now.
23:41
We can have a good time together. And then you suddenly find that that's not the case.
23:44
And guarantee quality of care, a certain level of standard, I guess.
23:50
Well, this is a society that believes in fairness and equality.
23:57
Are we getting it? I don't know. Personally, I think maybe we're not.
24:03
But I can't speak for the government. I do believe that the government needs to,
24:10
get a grip of all of these things and tell us what is expected of us,
24:15
what is deserved by us as people within the society.
24:21
I'm personally I'm now retired so maybe it's just that's the sort of questions around the corner for me,
24:28
I don't know I had one question that was the fact that Andy Burnham is trying
24:33
to use the inspiration of the beverage report that founded the NHS to well he wants to,
24:40
invite civil servants now to conduct reports to enlighten him on how the care
24:46
service sorry how social care for Elderly has failed and how they can make a
24:50
better system for 2029. Does that give you optimism at all?
24:54
Not really. It doesn't give me optimism. I think any politician who has been
24:59
around for a good many years, like Mr.
25:01
Burnham, I think he should have very, very firm opinions on these matters.
25:06
And I think in his previous life as mayor of Greater Manchester,
25:10
I think he should have formed proper opinions.
25:13
And those opinions, he has gone, I want to be prime minister on that mandate
25:20
of, I used to be a bigwig in Manchester.
25:24
I've been doing it for donkey's years. Let me be prime minister.
25:27
He's got those opinions. He should now, forget forming a committee to form an
25:32
opinion. No, no, no, forget that. He should have them.
25:35
All members of government, they shouldn't be in government if they haven't already
25:39
got proper formulated opinions on this matter.
25:43
You're listening to the Late Late Lunch Show on Radio Alty.
25:47
And at the same time, it creates communities because you can become very isolated
25:52
as an older person when you stop, especially in the social media times, internet times.
25:58
But do you see any benefits of going into a residential community, if you like?
26:04
Well, from the experience of a friend of mine, a very elderly friend,
26:10
she did come to a point where I believe that she felt going into.
26:15
Residential care gave her the reassurance overnight where
26:20
if she was just receiving care in her home, she felt lonely and I think quite
26:26
afraid of being on her own overnight with nobody to be able to contact quickly.
26:34
Yeah, so that reassurance of having people around you is very important.
26:39
Yes, and of course, if you're able to socialise with other people within the
26:46
home, that must be of great benefit.
26:48
Yes, but I guess it comes down to what should the cost of that be and what should
26:55
people lose in order to be able to afford to pay for it?
26:58
Well, I think at the moment most people will be thinking they're going to lose
27:02
the value of their homes and therefore their families are not going to benefit
27:08
from inheriting the value of their homes.
27:11
It will eat into, the cost of the care will eat into what they can leave to their families.
27:19
The converse to that would be that actually if it helps prolong the enjoyment
27:24
of life for somebody, who cares about using the value of the home to do that, really?
27:30
There's a bigger win here, if you like Yes, I think young people.
27:35
Old people do worry about leaving money to the family,
27:40
Yeah, it's weird, isn't it, when they've given them their lives in some ways.
27:45
They still feel this need to give something back. That's right. I think they do.
27:49
And I think most of my friends and people of my age feel like that.
27:54
And do you think that's just because that's what society's always done?
27:57
Probably, probably. So we might need to rethink that a little bit.
28:01
Yes, well, I think at the moment we're having to rethink a lot of things,
28:05
aren't we? We are indeed. Thank you very much indeed.
28:09
Oh, right. I really enjoyed that. And the sun just literally started coming
28:12
out. The sun's just come out and the fox pops just kept on getting better and better.
28:17
And do you know what today was interesting is that you always get those people
28:22
who initially are really reluctant.
28:25
You don't know if you really want to push them, but sometimes you just get this
28:28
inkling it's worth pushing them.
28:30
And then they start speaking. You get this whole rainbow of knowledge and you
28:37
see their face slide up and suddenly they're actually enjoying it.
28:42
And actually what you find is often they are the older members of the community.
28:47
And that last lady was a prime example of that. Exceptional, yeah.
28:51
And that sort of says to me that that's almost about when people who,
28:57
the benefits of engaging as you're older, not being isolated,
29:01
not being on your own, that engagement has such a positive impact, I think.
29:08
And that's why I think that's what that was an example of today.
29:12
No, yeah. I think that she was exceptional to be honest. And I think that you
29:16
were very persistent as well. And it was perfect because I think that.
29:20
Just wraps up the show very well and i think that everyone that we had on,
29:24
brought a really good unique perspective as to why this is such an issue and
29:29
it is a big issue i think really and i think we heard a number of different
29:33
angles from it i think we heard the angle of that lady said the fairness of it you know.
29:39
Especially if you're a single person and your inheritance tax allowance is lower
29:46
than it would be if you were married.
29:48
So you're paying more tax on inheritance.
29:52
I think that's what she said, wasn't it? And is that fair? I think we also had
29:56
people saying, actually, there's a lot of unknowns about the cost of care as
30:00
you get older and what you can afford and what happens when you run out of money.
30:05
You know, because the question is, how much money do you need?
30:08
And we've got a society who thankfully are healthier and living longer.
30:13
So therefore the cost of that care, whoever picks it up is more.
30:18
So it's interesting. And I think really the bigger question is,
30:23
as a society, do we care about this topic enough?
30:27
Are we aware of it enough? Do we care? And yeah, some people say,
30:31
well, I want to, you know, bequeath my house to my family.
30:36
Is that now a realistic thing that you should think about doing now?
30:40
Do you need to actually look after number one and have that money for yourself,
30:45
so that you can have a very enjoyable life right into your 90s even?
30:51
Yeah, really good questions there.
30:54
And just to stitch it all up, do you think that this is something that the government,
31:00
the country will ever get to the bottom of?
31:02
No, because I think the goalposts will continually shift on it.
31:06
I think the big question here is whether the working community,
31:12
is prepared to put some of the tax money into looking after those people who
31:18
in later life are unable to look after themselves.
31:22
Do we as a society believe that there's a responsibility on the working community,
31:27
to pay for those who, as they get older, can no longer look after themselves,
31:33
don't have the benefits of a good pensions or enough provision to be able to afford care homes.
31:39
Maybe don't have enough value in their homes to be able to long-term stay in
31:44
a nice residential care.
31:47
What is our attitude towards this as a country?
31:50
Because you get the impression that we're not as patient and supportive of people,
32:02
as maybe we traditionally would have been.
32:04
I guess we'll pick this up later in the studio then, Rod. We will. Thank you, Rod.
32:08
James, a really interesting discussion, wasn't it?
32:12
Yeah, it was really interesting. And it's certainly something that we haven't
32:15
touched on before for people in the street.
32:16
At least it's not something that we've done specifically. So in that sense,
32:20
it's something brand new across over 130 plus episodes.
32:24
So I'm really glad we did. And I think we need to pick it up again.
32:29
And unfortunately, with the way time worked out, we probably didn't prioritize
32:34
getting younger people, teenagers and early 20s to get their view.
32:40
And we really should because they might be the people from a taxation point
32:44
of view has a certain burden on social care in the future, looking after their
32:50
grandparents, maybe their parents as well.
32:53
Yeah, working at the opposite side of it. So today we focus more on the older
32:58
generation's view of it.
33:00
So next time we could do part two, which would be the younger audience and how
33:05
it's going to affect them and what their views are.
33:07
Yeah, what do you think was the overall consensus today, James?
33:12
Overall consensus is people aren't fully sure what the answer is,
33:18
and they haven't got much faith maybe in the government, but there's definitely
33:23
consensus that cost is an issue, and that's.
33:26
The cost of social care and also money running out.
33:29
And there was a degree of frustration that there isn't more clarity,
33:33
governmental clarity, on how this should be managed, I think.
33:39
Was there? Yeah, definitely. I think the people...
33:43
Actually have lost faith in the government or don't have much faith that they will fix it.
33:48
Although maybe there is some slight credibility that Andy Burnham at least has,
33:53
mentioned it and that he is trying to put it back into the public perception.
33:58
So yeah, that was probably what I got from that.
34:01
And there is this question about
34:04
whose responsibility is it to provide for people in their later years?
34:12
And, you know, if you, I guess there's one aspect, which is if you have had
34:19
the luxury of having a job, an employment that has allowed you to build up some assets.
34:27
Should you or should you not use that asset in order to you to really have a
34:33
completely fulfilled life?
34:36
But there is the other aspect which is I've had a great life building my career
34:43
or my job I've paid my taxes into this system I want to leave something for my family and.
34:53
The lines are not as clear on that anymore I don't think no they're not and
34:59
there's also the question is that people don't know how long they're going to
35:01
live for So I don't know how much money they'll need to save.
35:07
I guess that clock's into the whole money running out thing,
35:10
but maybe they have to meet halfway.
35:14
Maybe they're already contributing to pensions, so how much more do they have to contribute to it?
35:20
Maybe part of your pension should be towards being looked after by a social
35:24
care provision. I'm not sure.
35:27
I wonder whether it'll end up a bit like car insurance, where you can't have
35:33
a car unless you insure it and you have to show that you have insured it.
35:40
I wonder whether in the future, as part of your income, that you have to put
35:47
a percentage away for your later lives.
35:50
That sounds like an idea they should have before. Why do they not have that
35:54
idea for like 20 years ago, 30 years ago?
35:57
Maybe it is. Maybe that's what pension is all about.
36:00
But maybe we'll have to get that because the states, the government,
36:07
can't afford to provide as much in the future as it does today.
36:13
But I think we'll do a part two on this and specifically talk to younger people
36:19
and get their view from the street on this, James.
36:23
Is that going to come this season or next season? I think we'll do it this season, James.
36:29
Good idea. I think that the government will just keep on jacking up taxes.
36:33
So they'll think, oh, okay, any excuse to jack up taxes.
36:37
Right. Well, that's been View for the Street today.
36:40
And that will be our podcast and also our next cloud. We'll be back with View
36:44
for the Street next Monday.
36:46
Cheers, James. Thank you, Rob.