A major policy letter that hit the meeting of the States was that produced by SWBIC. Here is my speech.
Sir, This is a good report. It is well-balanced, which I think reflects the diverse make up of that Committee, which I mean in a positive way. I would just like to comment on one aspect of the report and that is in relation to the implications of moving people from rent rebate to supplementary benefit.
On page 1956, paragraph 161 it states that the proposed unification of the system will potentially bring an additional 930 households, comprising 2,275 individuals, into scope of free medical and para-medical cover.
Now, I don’t want Members to think I believe that wrong. Quite the contrary. The report published a year ago by CICRA on the primary healthcare market stated that 50% of those respondents to their consultation has been put off going to the GP because of the cost. We don’t want that. All that means is people aren’t treated in time which in the end can result in more serious long term conditions and proportionately more expensive treatments.
However, I think it is important that Members are made aware of the impact that this might have on health services, at least in the short term, before things settle down, as we see increased demand arising from referrals from GPs. We don’t know the impact at this stage but it is not rocket science that it will result in greater demand.
I had drafted an amendment on this area but decided that, after discussing this with Deputy Le Lievre, that it was sufficient that I just make my concerns known for the record. However, I do believe that the future Committee for Health and Social Care with that of Employment and Social Security will need to keep this under review, possibly at the same time as addressing the recommendations of the CICRA report in relation to charges for GP consultations in general.
Having said that, it makes complete sense to me merging the rent rebates into supplementary benefits. It results in greater transparency and that has to be a good thing. So, finally, I would say well done to SWBIC and hope everyone supports these proposals.