The challenges of devolution

The Welsh Assembly Government has just published a consultation paper with plans for changing the way social care works in Wales.

The consultation is very similar to the one that ended in England this month, Shaping the Future of Care Together, which proposed plans for a National Care Service in England.

Even though some of the questions the two governments ask are similar – like how care should be paid for, and what should care look like – the care systems themselves are devolved between England and Wales so our campaigning work has to be separate.

In our response to the English consultation, we argued against the UK Government’s plans to abolish Attendance Allowance – a UK-wide benefit - to help pay for a new England-only care system.

In Wales, we will recommend a social care system suitable for people with Parkinson’s, utilising our specialist Campaigns Officer based in the country.

But we will also continue to argue against scrapping Attendance Allowance, even though this isn’t something the Welsh Assembly Government controls. They are consulting on the issue so we hope that through the Welsh Assembly Government, we can in turn influence the UK Government.

We will be responding in full to the Welsh Assembly Government’s consultation on social care. If you live in Wales and want to have your say on how social care should look, you can send in your own feedback on the consultation document

Steve Ford is Chief Executive of the Parkinson's Disease Society