The Personal Care at Home Bill has been approved, seeing a landmark £670 million help thousands of people. Health Secretary Andy Burnham said this revelation will let people stay in their own homes instead of being moved into residential care.

The new legislation has however caused controversy, with the Liberal Democrats claiming it will only help a fraction of the 400,000 people that Mr Burnham said would benefit from the free support. It is also being criticised for how it will be funded, with local councils having to fund some of the bill to provide free social care for the elderly in their own homes. Mr Burnham said the legislation was a significant moment, marking the beginning of a fundamental overhaul of care services in England.

Mr Burnham said: "It will provide real support to over 400,000 of the most vulnerable people in our constituencies. This includes people with advanced conditions such as Parkinson's, dementia, Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease. They are the people with the greatest needs who require intimate personal care in all aspects of their daily lives. These are people who, as their condition has deteriorated, will already in many cases have paid significant sums out of their own pockets towards the cost of their care."

 

The new bill will see hundreds of social care and nursing jobs created, as there is now a higher need for them than ever.