To think we’re returning to a time of institutional welfare?

[Clawdya]

We can’t afford to pay poor pensioners to live alone in large council houses with a team of regular carers dropping in.

We can’t afford to pay two parents to care full-time for a disabled child, whilst also funding their entire household.

We can’t continue pushing children with complex needs who can’t function in mainstream schools into them, where they can’t learn and disrupt everyone else.

Surely the answer is large, state-run, state-funded institutions to meet these needs, with trained and skilled staff, regulated monitoring and the benefit of economies of scale?

What does that have to do with this thread?

Oh OP please just admit that you're completely daft 😆. You can't send away disabled children. My god, have some respect! You're wrong anyway about finances and won't reply to those posters who've pointed that out.

We are not returning back to it, we are collapsing down into it. For some historical reference, when we left it so we are returning to it pls

Absolutely not for children. Disabled children have far better outcomes supported in a loving family environment.
The practical support (of likely lowly trained lowly paid workers) cannot begin to replicate being in a family home.
It's also rare for 2 parents to be off work with a disabled child.
My friend has an autistic non verbal teen who needs care throughout the day and night (wakes often), she doesn't work, but her husband works full time and they have a carer twice a week for 4 hours each time as respite. Id hazard that costs far less than residential care would cost.

But one children's home with 10 children has to cost less than ,10 houses being used by various private companies all screwing a profit.

Thick as a brick pampered middle class Farage supporter wants to bring workhouses back. Quelle surprise!

Have you actually been into any of the supported care homes ? Because I have, and with the best will in the world and good intentions from staff they’re generally old, run down buildings shabby round the edges and are absolutely not somewhere I’d like to see my daughter living . You’d need an absolute fortune to provide really good quality suitable facilities. One of our local respite facilities is up two flights of stairs. She can’t walk very well ….

Do you really think parents would send their disabled children off to institutions so they can go back to work??
My child has spent many months at a time on a ward when he’s been unwell, but at home he has care from me, at school he has a 1:1, at respite he has a 1:1. Meanwhile, while he’s well, he is around his friends and siblings, he sleeps in his own bedroom. The cost is still vastly less then if he were in a hospital every day and night, and he has a quality of life. Are you suggesting families are separated from their children long term so they can work? How do think this would work? Wtaf OP

There are currently about 13 million pensioners in the U.K.

in 2022-3 74% owned their own home outright
17% were social renting
5-6% are private renting
the rest are mostly paying a mortgage.

the stats are that only one in three people will ever need a care home (so two in three people die at home or hospital or hospice without ever having been in a care home).

In March 2025 there were 441,000 people in care homes (not all of whom will be pensioners).

if they were all pensioners this would be about 3%.

What on earth makes anyone think this is even remotely likely, it's absurd.

We can’t afford to keep bailing out private companies while their bosses reap massive profits.

We can’t afford to continue letting billionaires exploit workers and the environment on a massive scale.

We can’t afford to keep allowing politicians to line their own pockets and dish out lucrative contracts to their mates.

Fixed it for you OP!

Have you seen the dementia villages they have in the netherlands. These would be really great for different subsets of people in society who need supported living.
But the sad reality is many of the exisiting care homes are just awful and not the answer.

It’s not just always the cost of carers though is it? My sister cares for her disabled child and it’s UC for her and son plus an extra payment due to disability, council tax paid, full rent paid, Scottish child payment and the new Scottish version of pip. She’s got more disposable income than ever had in the past when working. I’m assuming if you add it all up it’s close on £3.5-4k a month There was no appropriate secondary school place for him and council/ social services all pushed her to home educate as I assume still cheaper for them.

Jeez where am I going wrong, can I have my £3.5-4 a month please !

I do think there should be more specialist schools, yes. Not residential, I don’t mean in that way. I’m just not convinced that mainstream education is working for all kids and any extra costs would be worth it.

Reading the OP’s post has taken me back to before the implementation of ‘Care In The Community’ but I’m not sure if there’s an economic case for it. Much cheaper for the government to leave families to it and let them be stigmatised for claiming benefits.

Not all. A friend works for an organisation in Scotland who support adults with learning needs in their own (local authority) homes. In some cases there are two people sharing -at most. They have a carer 24/7 who take them out to cinema, football etc. At night, each person also has a carer for a “sleepover” shift - 2 if there are 2 sharing a house. The carer literally does sleep - staff work the day shift then do the sleepover and sometimes even a late shift the next day.

These are youngish people who cannot live alone but are not physically disabled and only need social care - not medical/nursing. It must cost £millions every year. They also pay for a carer to go on holiday with them, saved up from their benefits - friend has been to Disneyland Florida and Ibiza this year.

I don’t grudge them a holiday - just pointing out that they are not extremely incapacitated- but think they could be just as well supported in a sheltered housing type setting with a warden and on call help if needed.

Something has to give.

Nigel is that you again wanging on about institutionlising children. !

Ah your "friend" yeah of course !

They really aren’t

To be fair I’ve seen posters on here complaining that if their child went into this setup of supported accommodation they’d get a £60000+ care package but if they live at home can only get carers.

"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"

Bloody hell the dehumanising of disabled people on here never fails to astound me.

Which of these facilities would you be using for your family, OP?
Do you have disabled children you feel would be better in an institution?
Are you in a council property and thinking it will be too large for you to manage as you grow older?

Or are you thinking you'd like to be providing the care?

Give me an example of knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

You are talking about human beings OP, not bricks. And your post is disgusting

I think we will be returning to intergenerational families. Which, as an Asian, terrifies me.