As part of my responsibilities as an Opposition Government whip, over the last six weeks I have been part of the Labour team managing the Care Bill as it passes through Parliament, meeting four times a week to scrutinize the Government’s legislation clause by clause in a committee, and raising the concerns that many families, care workers and charity workers have had on different parts of the Bill.

The Care Bill set out to modernise the law to put people’s wellbeing at the heart of the care and social system and, to an extent, it is a modest step towards this. During the committee stage I welcomed measures in the Bill which built on the work of the previous Labour government and which will help the elderly, disabled and care workers in our community and across the country.

Overall however, the Bill misses a key opportunity and falls short of addressing the national crisis in social care. Indeed things have got worse.

Since 2010, £2.68bn has been cut from council budgets for adult social care, approximately 20% of the budget. Councils like Hounslow are doing their best to save money through changing the way care is provided and working more closely with the NHS, but faced with the scale of the cuts many are being forced to slash services and increase charges in order to balance their books. In Hounslow for example the vital ‘Meals on Wheels’ service has had to raise its prices by more than 25% in 3 years, from £4.00 to £5.10 per meal. This is just one extra rising cost on top of charges for domiciliary care of £13 an hour in Hounslow.

Local people need a fairer deal and a Government on their side, helping them to tackle the catastrophic costs of care at the end of their lives. With more than 10% of the Feltham and Heston population over 65, and nearly 1 million older people living in London, this is a great concern for many local families.

One of the most contentious parts of the Bill is the Government’s suggestion that they are introducing a cap on care costs of £72k, despite the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support warning that a cap set above £50,000 would not provide adequate protection for people with low incomes and low wealth. It is contentious because it is not true, and is in fact a ‘care cap con’.

The Government keeps saying that people won’t have to pay more than £72,000 for their care, when in reality Labour's analysis has shown that an average pensioner faces paying more than £150,000 for their actual residential care home bill before they hit the so-called ‘cap’. That’s because the ‘cap’ will be based on the standard rate local authorities pay for a bed in a care home in their area, not the actual amount self-funders are really charged – which is much higher than the council rate.

The difference between the council rate and what pensioners actually pay won’t count towards the ‘cap’. Pensioners in care homes will also have to pay £230 a week for their ‘hotel and accommodation’ costs which won’t count towards the ‘cap’ either. Despite Cameron’s promises, many people will still have to sell their homes to pay for care.

Labour would do things differently. To help with the immediate crisis, Labour is calling on the Government to use £700m from this year’s NHS underspend on social care. Labour has also made plans for ‘whole person care’ which would see the full integration of the NHS and social care, helping to raise care standards and deliver better value for money too – doing more to make  sure that the elderly in our society don’t have to sell their family homes which they have worked hard all their lives for.

The Care Bill returns to the House of Commons for debate next month. This is one of the most significant pieces of legislation of our time, affecting how families plan for care needs and how carers are also supported in law. If you have any comments or views on the future of social care provision, please do write to me or email me.