County Councillor, Matthew Ellis

Government care proposals need input from pioneering councils

The Government has been urged to come up with radical long-term solutions to the challenges posed by our rapidly aging society.

The call coincides with the publication this week of a Government Green Paper on the future of care funding nationally for older people.

Matthew Ellis, the county council's new Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care who was appointed after the recent change in political control, believes the Government must talk to local authorities and learn how they are involved in pioneering work.

He said: "The current system is a lottery and isn't sustainable. Financially Staffordshire, and all other councils, are finding it impossible to meet fast growing demand from within existing resources. For people in need of care, the level available depends too much on where you live, your amount of savings, the support received from family and a host of other factors.