A Message from the Archbishop of York

Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu has written in an open letter to the Prime Minister that there needs to be a permanent solution found for the deepening care crisis due to the elderly population explosion in the Western world.

The Archbishop urged the Prime Minister to address the crisis, for which the available funding is "unfit for purpose". He went on to urge David Cameron to show his powers of leadership by implementing the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission.

These recommendations made in July by the Commission on Funding of Care and Support, chaired by Andrew Dilnot, proposed that older people would meet the first £35,000 of their care costs after which the state would take over.

Dr Sentamu acknowledged that British society does care for its elderly people but said, however, that it rates more poorly than other cultures in its attitude towards the older generation. He wrote: "While there is no evidence that other cultures care for older people more than we do, African and many non-Western societies more visibly care about older people.”Today's society is, he said, one in which young and old are set in a state of "mutual incomprehension." What we really need in the West is to bring young and old together to form a mutually supportive society."

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