End the care crisis: Lobby 2012

Lobbying Success: Tuesday 6 March 2012, London

Thank you to everyone who took part in the national lobby day in London on Tuesday 6 March. Your support drew national media attention, raising awareness of the care crisis issue among the public as well as among parliamentarians.  

With almost 1,000 lobbyists in attendance, MPs from constituencies all over the country learnt about the crisis in funding for social care directly from the people most affected. A big thank you also goes to those people who couldn't attend on the day, and took part by writing to their local elected representatives and sharing campaign messages with friends, family and their wider communities. 

Why did we hold a national lobby day?

Our care system is broken and needs urgent reform. People with dementia often have to pay in excess of £100,000 to receive care and support that varies greatly in quality.

The government is due to publish its plans to reform the social care system in the spring. We need to put pressure on our MPs to make sure that they act now to reform our social care system - we can't allow this once in a generation chance to slip away. The Care and Support Alliance organised this lobby day to make the case for change.

Who else took part?

We worked with the Care and Support Alliance - a coalition of more than 50 other charities - to bring together supported to ensure that this issue remains a top political priority. Hundreds of volunteers from each and every one of these charities took part on the day.

What happens next?

Our combined voice on the day asked all MPs to write to David Cameron, to encourage him not to miss this opportunity to reform our broken social care system. The Care and Support Alliance will follow up with all MPs to ensure they take action on the discussions they had with their constituents. When the White Paper is published later in the spring, we will be able to see the impact our lobbying has had, and take further action if necessary to ensure that changes are made in the way we pay for care.

What else can I do?

If you haven't already, you can write to your MP and keep this issue right at the top of the political agenda. Every single MP has thousands of constituents affected by dementia and we need your help to ensure that they know how important this issue is.

Join our Campaigners' Network and sign up to regular campaign updates. Our campaigners are at the heart of the work that we do for people with dementia. By joining the network you'll be signing up to receive regular emails, all with quick and easy tasks designed to ensure that people with dementia have their voices heard

Our colleagues at Age UK have set up a petiton on behalf of the Care and Support Alliance. Register your support.