Gosport MP ‘frustrated’ as Brexit debates delay social care paper for a fifth time

FURTHER delays to a government bill on the future of social care could be due to Brexit dominating discussions in Westminster, according to Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage.
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The minister of state for care has been trying to push a green paper to reform social care in the country since she was appointed last year – but the government has now failed to publish the paper on five occasions.

Ms Dinenage says that this bill needs urgent attention to relieve the current pressure on the NHS.

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‘The system is under enormous pressure and we can’t carry on as we are,’ she said.

Caroline Dinenage, Gosport MP. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA WireCaroline Dinenage, Gosport MP. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Caroline Dinenage, Gosport MP. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

’This is a problem that needs to be tackled – successive governments have put it in the ‘too difficult’ pile and failed to address it.

‘I am frustrated; it’s been something I’ve been working on since I started in this department, but if I’m honest parliament has been focused on other things.’

The news comes after a debate about veteran suicides in Westminster brought by Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan was cut short for a Brexit vote.

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Mr Morgan believes that the government’s ‘Brexit deadlock’ must be broken – but said Brexit was not an excuse for inaction.

He said: ‘I am disappointed that the government has not offered real change or compromise following cross-party discussions over the last few days. It is time to break the Brexit deadlock.

‘Whilst others use the excuse of the chaos of Brexit, its not preventing me from raising the issues which matter to the people of Portsmouth.

‘That means speaking up over falling police numbers yet increases in crime, fighting £3.7m of cuts to city schools and colleges, lobbying for action on our declining high streets, supporting our veterans and pushing for investment in our dockyard, and standing up to this failing government to ensure they prioritise Portsmouth.’

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