Month: May 2017

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Clegg: NHS will be left with Theresa May’s £265m Brexit bill

Brexit will inflict serious staff shortages on the NHS creating a £265m bill to re-hire doctors and nurses from the EU after 2019, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Survey data suggests up to 26,500 members of NHS staff from the EU could leave the UK as a direct result of Brexit, while the number of EU nationals registering as nurses in the UK has already fallen by 90% since the referendum.

Liberal Democrat research shows the NHS will need to spend more than £265m to replace staff from the EU over the next five years, a Brexit bill of £1m per week, as a result of the Conservatives’ immigration skills charge on employers. This is on top of the £59bn blow to the public finances from Brexit over the next five years.

Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat European Union spokesperson Nick Clegg said:

“The Leave campaign promised that exiting the EU would free up £350m a week for the NHS. It’s long been clear this was a lie, and now we know that Theresa May’s choice of an extreme Brexit will in fact place yet more financial demands on a health service already under considerable strain.

“The NHS is heavily dependent on doctors, nurses and other support staff from the EU, many of whom are now planning to leave the country because their rights have not been guaranteed.

“These are skilled and hard-working people, who all work tirelessly to look after all of us. Our NHS, and the care we all rely on, will suffer without them.

“It will cost the NHS around £265m to bring in EU staff to fill these jobs over the next 5 years, a wholly unnecessary burden at a time when the NHS is being asked to make dramatic efficiency savings.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. We already know the government is borrowing an additional £15bn a year as a direct result of the EU referendum – money which could otherwise be spent directly on the NHS.

“The NHS is far too precious to be damaged by Theresa May’s decision to pursue a UKIP-style Brexit.

“The Liberal Democrats will stand up to Theresa May’s extreme Brexit and give the people the final say, with the choice to remain in the European Union if they don’t like the deal on offer.”

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Ryanair Brexit warning shows risk of “no deal” for UK travellers


Ryanair has warned the UK is heading for an “ugly divorce” from Europe, and that leaving the EU without a bilateral deal could mean very restricted or no flying between the UK and Europe.

They also warned that Theresa May’s plans to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice would mean Britain will leave the Open Skies agreement which governs flights between the UK and Europe.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said:

“This is the reality of Theresa May’s extreme version of Brexit and insistence we could just crash out of the EU without a deal.

“Jobs could be lost, flights disrupted and British travellers’ lives thrown into chaos, but Theresa May doesn’t care.

“We will fight for a better deal on Europe and to give people a chance to reject a disastrous Brexit.

“The British people should be able to decide whether Theresa May’s Brexit deal is right for them, with the choice to remain in the EU if they don’t like what’s on offer.”

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Hunt admits “bad Brexit” will hurt NHS: Lamb responds


The Liberal Democrats have seized on remarks by Jeremy Hunt in which he admits a ”bad Brexit” will damage the NHS.

Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat Health Secretary, said:

“The Conservative Brexiteers promised a £350m a week saving for the NHS. Instead the public finances are facing a £59bn Brexit black-hole because of Theresa May’s decision to go for an extreme Brexit, which would take us out of the single market.

“Jeremy Hunt warns that the NHS will not have enough doctors or nurses with a so-called ‘bad Brexit’. But Theresa May’s refusal to guarantee a right to remain for NHS staff has already resulted in staff leaving the NHS. Thanks to Theresa May, this is already a bad Brexit.

“Sadly, the people who will suffer are patients, who will pay with cancelled operations. But Theresa May just doesn’t seem to care.”

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Clegg: May’s approach to Brexit is a threat to national security

Nick Clegg has accused Theresa May of putting national security at risk by pursuing an extreme Brexit that will see Britain locked out of an EU police database used by UK police and security services 16 times a second.

The Schengen Information System (SIS II) is an EU-wide database on organised criminal and terrorist suspects across 28 countries, including 35,000 people wanted under a European Arrest Warrant. It includes alerts on suspected ‘foreign fighters’ – people who have travelled to Syria and elsewhere to fight for ISIS.

  • UK police and security services queried the database over half a billion times in 2016 – equivalent to 16 checks a second.
  • 53 people are detained and questioned under anti-terrorism laws at ports and airports every day, where they can be checked against the database by UK Border Force officers.
  • In April 2016, the UK received 25 hits on alerts issued by other participating countries in relation to individuals who could pose a risk to national security.
  • The UK would lose access to the database under Theresa May’s plans to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Unless this position changes, UK authorities will see their access to the database cut off on 29th March 2019.

Nick Clegg has challenged Theresa May to answer three vital questions:

  1. How will we maintain access to SIS II without accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice?
  2. What contingency plans has she put in place to mitigate the loss of this information on the movement of terrorist suspects across the continent?
  3. How will we issue instructions to other EU countries to stop and question terror suspects if we are no longer part of this system?

Nick Clegg commented:

“Theresa May’s extreme approach to Brexit will have the direct consequence of severing our ties to a fantastically useful weapon in our armoury against terrorism. By refusing to accept a role for the European Court of Justice in policing this European-wide database, she has ruled out our future participation it. “
 
“It is hard to overstate the importance of this database. We check it 16 times a second, looking for security threats that have been flagged to us by other European countries. And we use it to tell other countries to stop and question people who we think are potential terrorists. This is euroscepticism gone mad. If she fails to back down, Theresa May’s approach to Brexit poses a direct threat to our national security.”

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Scrapping free school lunches would waste £3million spent upgrading kitchens in Hampshire

Plans by Theresa May to axe free school lunches would waste the £3,055,034 invested in Hampshire to upgrade school kitchens, according to the Liberal Democrats.

It comes after figures revealed 34,059 children in Hampshire are set to lose out under the Conservative proposals.

When in government, the Liberal Democrats invested £160m upgrading school kitchen facilities to enable them to prepare hot lunches, including £3,055,034 in Hampshire.

Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Gray for Havant commented:

“The Liberal Democrats in government invested £160m to give schools the kitchens they needed to ensure that no infant would go hungry, including more than £3million in our county alone.”

“This policy was extremely successful and guaranteed that local children received at least two of their five a day in their school lunch. But now Theresa May is threatening to throw that money down the drain.”

“A Conservative measure designed to save money will waste money. Not only is it heartless, it is bad economics. I challenge my Conservative opponent Alan Mak to say whether, if elected, he would vote against their own party to ensure that children in Havant receive a decent lunch.”

“The Liberal Democrats will protect free school lunches for infants and ensure all primary school children can get a healthy, free lunch a day.”

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Dementia tax could wipe out up to half the value of average family home


Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has shown that up to half of the value of an average family home could be at risk from Theresa May’s dementia tax.

It comes after Amber Rudd said the Conservatives did not know what a future cap on social care costs would be, while refusing to rule out that it could be as high as £200,000 or £300,000.

The analysis reveals that:

  • If a cap was introduced at £200k, the costs of care for those with long-term conditions could wipe out over half of the value of an average family home
  • If a cap was introduced at £150k, the costs of care for those with long-term conditions could wipe out around a third of the value of an average family home
  • In Theresa May’s constituency of Maidenhead, the dementia tax could wipe out 40% of the value of an average home if a cap of £200k was introduced.

    Sign the Liberal Democrats petition to scrap the dementia tax here!

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb said:

“These figures show Theresa May’s dementia tax could devastate hard-working families, with a cap on costs in the hundreds of thousands.

“Across the country, people risk seeing over half the value of their homes taken to pay for care costs.

“Theresa May’s stubborn refusal to set out the full details of the dementia tax shows she has no plans to ditch it.

“She is showing contempt for vulnerable older people who have developed a condition like dementia through no fault of their own.”

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10 Questions Theresa May must answer on the Dementia Tax

The Liberal Democrats have challenged Theresa May to answer ten pressing key questions on the Dementia Tax, calling on her to come clean before the election takes place.
These include what level the cap will be set at, whether it will be uprated with house prices and whether it will include interest rates and arrangement fees.

Theresa May has also been challenged over how long surviving relatives will be able to stay in a family home and whether measures will be put in place to stop people avoiding the Dementia Tax.

  1. At what level will the cap on care costs be set?

  2. How will it be uprated? Will it be in line with house prices?

  3. Does the £100,000 floor apply to households or individuals?

  4. Will the cap and £100,000 floor apply to care costs only, or will it also include accommodation costs?

  5. Will people still need to pay an arrangement fee and interest for care costs, and if so how will these charges be set? The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM) currently charges 2.25% interest and a £900 set up fee plus £300 a year (link).

  6. Will interest fees and fee payments for care costs be included under the cap?

  7. Will local councils have to pay the additional costs for this scheme or will they be fully reimbursed by the Treasury?

  8. Will widows, widowers or dependent children be able to remain in the family home after their relative has died, especially where they are elderly themselves? Or will they be forced to sell the home to pay for care costs?

  9. What interest rate will be charged on a deferred payment once the beneficiary has died? Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead charge 8% if not settled within 90 days of death (link).

  10. Will measures be put place to prevent people avoiding the Dementia Tax, for example releasing equity or gifting a house to children or grandchildren more than seven years before death?

The Liberal Democrats have committed in their manifesto to implementing the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission, which would mean a cap on care costs of £72,000

Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, said: 

“It is simply not good enough to dodge difficult questions and proper scrutiny during the campaign over an issue that will have such a huge impact on people’s lives.

“Under these proposals, many would end up paying far more for their care.

“Families deserve to know now what the Dementia Tax will mean for their homes, finances and relatives.

“We have set out a clear set of questions Theresa May must answer in order to come clean to the British public and address their concerns.

“The Liberal Democrats will keep campaigning to scrap the Dementia Tax and ensure no-one has to worry about catastrophic costs to pay for their care.”

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Clegg: May should take her inspiration from Jamie Oliver not Oliver Twist

Nick Clegg has warned today (Saturday 27th May) that Theresa May’s plans to scrap free school lunches could hit children’s health by depriving hundreds of thousands of pupils of their 5-a-day.

It comes as the Liberal Democrats have unveiled a hard-hitting digital poster of a hungry child asking: “Please Theresa, May I have some more.”

Unlike school lunches, there are no nutritional guidelines or minimum portions for breakfasts. This means while pupils currently get at least two to three of their five a day with free lunches, with free breakfasts they could potentially get none.

Current standards would allow school breakfasts to consist mainly of processed breakfast cereals, toast with sweetened spreads, and there would be no limit on the total amount of sugar children can consume.

Nick Clegg said:

“Theresa May’s plans would hit children’s health by depriving them of a free nutritional meal at school.

“This is particularly short-sighted when we are struggling with soaring levels of childhood obesity.

“The Liberal Democrats will protect free school lunches for infants and ensure all primary school children can get a healthy, free lunch a day.

“Conservative candidates must make clear whether they will vote to take away lunches from hard-pressed families or stand up to Theresa May for the sake of the education and good health of our children.

“Theresa May should take her inspiration from Jamie Oliver not Oliver Twist.”

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Dementia tax remains in place despite May’s manifesto meltdown

Responding to Theresa May’s announcement  on social care in which she said “nothing has changed,” Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said:

“May’s manifesto meltdown changes nothing. As Theresa May has made clear herself, nothing has changed and her heartless dementia tax remains in place. This is a cold and calculated attempt to pull the wool over people’s eyes.”

“Theresa May still wants to take older people’s homes to fund social care.”

Havant Liberal Democrat Candidate Paul Gray added: “The Dementia tax  is a disgrace. Having been encouraged throughout their lifetimes to put money into bricks and mortar, our elderly are now told their homes could be ripped away from them. 96% of homes in our area could have to be sold to pay for this death tax. I will fight against it with all my vigour.”

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Vince Cable: IFS analysis shows Conservatives and Labour are hiding impact of their plans from the public

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published a damning analysis of the Labour and Conservative manifestos, saying that neither party “has set out an honest set of choices.” 

It says plans in the Conservative manifesto could do “serious damage” to the quality of public services such as the NHS and schools, while Labour’s tax rises may not raise anything like the tax revenues they have claimed.

The IFS has also previously stated that the revenue raised by the Liberal Democrats’ income tax rises, at around £6bn per year, is “more certain” than the revenue raised by Labour.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable said:

“Both the Conservatives and Labour are hiding the real impact of their plans from the public.

“Theresa May’s plans would decimate our public services while Jeremy Corbyn’s plans would decimate household finances.

“On top of that Labour has voted for Theresa May’s Brexit plans that will damage the economy and mean billions of pounds less funding for our schools and hospitals.

“The British people don’t have to accept this dismal choice, a brighter future is possible.

“The Liberal Democrats will put a penny on income tax to rescue the NHS and social care, and protect our economy and public services by fighting to stay in the single market and customs union.”