EU REFERENDUM – INDEPENDENT FACTS
Housing and Social Care
First Published 15th June 2016
EU Fact, Housing
[2. Adequate protective housing, 6. Security in childhood-stable home]
Housing, is governed by the law of supply and demand and for years as a nation we have failed to build sufficient affordable housing where it is needed. The overall UK build requirement is estimated to be around 240,000 homes a year, but in the last ten years we have only built an average of 175,000 homes a year
EU Fact, NHS and Social Care
(5. Appropriate health care, 10. Safe birth control and child-bearing).
Sorry to be repetitive, but it is the effects of supply and demand that is damaging the NHS, except that the price of service cannot be raised to put downward pressure on demand, so it is either the amount of time spent queuing for the service that has to increase, or supply has to increase (i.e. more hospitals and staff to run them). To reduce demand, attempts have been made to reduce medical tourism, but the effect is only marginal.
The simple fact is that immigration is equivalent of a major city each year, so we need to build at least one new major hospital and staff it each year. The timeline to build and train doctors, nurses, ancillary staff, identify make this impossible and more so, when you include the additional number of GP’s, dentists and others, including nursing and all the ancillary staff required.
This rapid growth of demand affects all aspects of health and social care, but with different outcomes. The most likely result of over demand on social care will be dwindling resources and benefits across all services that are available for each person.
I would have preferred to validate the assumptions above with hard data, but this is not routinely collected, as some services, such as GP services and treatment in an A&E department, are free of charge for anyone, regardless of how long they have been in or intend to stay in the United Kingdom. Free access to other types of care depends on immigration status, with slight differences in the rules between England, Scotland and Wales, but in general people can receive NHS hospital treatment without charge, so data is not collected.
[https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/verdict/what-do-we-know-about-impact-immigration-nhs ] – Link Removed
Remain supporters argue that to leave the EU would stem the flow of medical staff, but the Leave supporters dismiss this claim, as they intend to allow migration for specific skill shortages in the economy and medical staff would qualify. The second threat that was previously unknown and has been identified as a serious threat to the NHS comes, surprisingly, from the USA, through a planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal with the EU that includes annual reviews of state monopolies. The TTIP provides for the breakup and privatisation of state monopolies like the NHS, if they are considered to distort the market. It also gives the right for American multinationals to secretly sue EU governments for non-compliance, but EU governments are not allowed to sue American multinationals.
Our options are either:
- Block the treaty with the support of 12 other EU states (improbable: see “Special Status in the EU” in Political Structure and Aims of the EU).
- Leave the EU.