Here we go again........

[Lamandolinata]

Our country is in a mess, the elderly cannot make ends meet, so what does our magnificent goverment do : gives away £814m, what about all those elderly who gave their all in WW11. This government should be ashamed of themselves.

[emmie]

as i am of the last shower who got us into this mess in the first place, alongside the merchant bankers.

[anotheoldgit]

Agree entirely Lamandolinata.

But don't expect too much support for the elderly on here, especially those WW2 vets.

[Bbbananas]

I have the utmost admiration for WW1 and WW2 vets. Their needs should be put before others from other countries.

[Bbbananas]

I can't recall anyone saying anything derogatory about WW2 veterans either.

[Sqad]

Well the choices for the Government...any Government is easy:

Give £10 ahead to vaccinate 80million who are dying before the age of 5years with preventable diseases OR let them die.

"The elderly cannot make ends meet"...should read SOME elderly cannot make ends meet.

[emmie]

LONDON – Australia and Britain have given the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization a head start at its London pledging conference by committing more funds to support the campaign to prevent childhood disease.

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced Monday that the British government will provide 814 million pounds ($1.3 billion) of new funding up to 2015. Britain previously has committed $3.25 billion to GAVI.

[emmie]

should read many can't make ends meet, perhaps you should have a look at many elderly in sub standard care homes, i have, their pensions gone, through mismanagement, not theirs, or scraping an existence on a paltry pension. Many having to sell homes they hoped to leave to their children, and as i have also witnessed the truly crappy treatment of many elderly in hospital.

[Ric.ror]

Lets not pitch the elderly against babies lets save our vitriol for Bankers and those who employ accountants to find legal loop holes to reduce their taxes

[emmie]

many of those might have been raising families, and not been able to put anything into a pension. I know a friend of my mothers who's husband died, and she survives on his pension, and it isn't much, out of that she pays for everything, because the threshold for getting any benefits, help is beyond what they consider she can live on. Many elderly are treated absymally in Britain.

[bazwillrun]

"elderly that have not saved for their old age? "

or did save but had their pensions stolen and /or get practically zero return on their savings.
A lot of those that didnt save are now no worse of than those that did save and had pensions

[Sqad]

em10....I agree with all your sentiments, but what would you suggest?

More, yet more money into the NHS for better provisions for the elderly.......more money into Social Services for the care of the elderly in homes and AT home.?

£800milion would soon be swallowed up and i doubt whether one would see a jot of improvement.

I would be annoyed to see my taxes raised to keep an old man or woman in a £250,000 house, to leave to their children.

[Bbbananas]

True. There is that.

[Sqad]

bazwiillrun....I agree........so what would you do with the £814million?

[hc4361]

If an old person has an asset - his home - and can no longer live in it because he needs to be in residential care, with no prospect of living in his own home again, why should the tax payer fund him just so that his kids can benefit? That is just bonkers.

I own my own home as do my parents. I hope if they need to, they use the money tied up in their house to make their own lives as comfortable and fulfilling as possible.

This money were giving in aid, by the way, is just over half of one per cent of our national income. (0.7per cent to be accurate). That is equivalent of me earning £200 a week and giving £1.40 to a down and out and thinking I'm being saintly.

[emmie]

Redhelen, our elderly were young once, they had a life, which involved having families, and working, they paid tax, national insurance, and those that could bought property for their security. Now that they have grown old, and their pension isn't enough to live on, and it isn't, and say a husband or wife dies, or one of them has alzheimers, dementia, the only real option is a care home, the costs of which are prohibitive. So to fund this care you sell the house, which perhaps you would like to have bequeathed to your family, that in many cases isn't possible now.
Care homes can cost a thousand a week, so your house sale won't go far. Not fair, if you have nothing, then i believe the council will pay the full cost of a care home.
I have seen first hand, how hard it is for anyone to get help from social services, NHS home nurses, and so on, and thats not how it should be. Of course i don't have the answer, i wish i did, but i do know this, i have seen the very worse there is on offer to the elderly, many who do fall through the financial net, and its not right.
As they say you can only speak from experience, and i have