News Story

Joint APPG Meeting and letter published in The Times

July 28, 2020

The CSA held a joint All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting on 15 July, bringing together Chairs and Co-Chairs of APPGs with an interest in social care.

These Parliamentarians were joined by some of our member organisations who provide the secretariat to these Groups, and discussed some of the issues the social care system has faced during the coronavirus outbreak. They also considered how they can make the case for long-term reform of the system in Parliament and to the Government. 

Chaired by Dame Cheryl Gillan, Chair of the APPG on Autism, the meeting was hugely productive and the group agreed to form a loose sounding board and continue meeting as a collective in the future. 

The meeting also led to a joint letter being published in The Times on Saturday 25 July, calling for a solution to the social care crisis. This was signed by nine Parliamentarians from across both Houses representing these APPGs. A copy of the letter and its signatories is below:

Sir, As chairmen and women of all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) concerned with social care, we met last week to consider the future of this vital service given all that we have learnt in the past six months. We are from different political parties and did not agree about everything, but we did identify much common ground. Above all, we agreed that a social-care solution is needed now more than ever to help disabled people and those with health conditions, older people and unpaid family carers too. If we can hold this kind of constructive dialogue we think others can and we look forward to formal cross-party talks to be called soon, which we will do everything we can to support.

Dame Cheryl Gillan, APPG on autism
Mark Harper,
APPG on learning disability
Barbara Keeley,
APPG on ageing and older people
Baroness Pitkeathley,
former chairwoman, APPG on carers
Baroness Gale,
APPG on Parkinson’s
Drew Hendry,
APPG on terminal illness
Baroness Greengross,
APPGs on dementia and adult social care
Debbie Abrahams,
APPG on dementia
Simon Hoare
,
APPG on multiple sclerosis
Dr Lisa Cameron,
APPG on disability

Thank you to all of the Parliamentarians who attended and signed this letter, and to our member organisations who supported this event. We look forward to continuing to work with this group in the future to help secure long-term social care reform.