"Ladies and Gentlemen let me start by thanking you for the issues you have raised,
Martyn for chairing so expertly,
And the panel for the sensitive and informed way in which they have addressed your questions.
Terry Pratchett
Courage is an over-used word. But today we have courage personified present with us in this hall.
To be told you have Alzheimer's disease can only be a shocking and frightening event. To experience the onset of the disease with its everyday frustrations and emotions even more so.
Some might give up hope.
But Terry Pratchett has chosen to embark on a very public battle with Alzheimer's. He is not just fighting the disease, he is fighting perceptions of it, and fighting for the right policies from the governments of today and tomorrow.
Even for such a renowned author, an action can overcome all words. Terry's gift of half a million pounds to the Alzheimer's Research Trust provoked coverage no speech could ever have done. I urge all in the hall and the millions beyond to join in Terry's resolve and, in his words, 'match it for Pratchett'.
For accepting my invitation to address us,
for challenging us so frankly as we ensure that we are ready for the responsibilities of Government,
and most importantly for campaigning on behalf of the 700,000 people with Alzheimer's, their families and carers I'm sure I echo all of us, and all of them, in saying: Thank you, Terry
Marianne Talbot
Thank you too to Marianne Talbot for sharing with us her experiences of caring for her mother and father.
Alzheimer's has been described as a disease which steals our loved ones before our very eyes. Without the love and courage of carers such as Marianne, millions of people up and down this country would lose the only lifeline they have.
Too often carers have been taken for granted. Did you know that three quarters of carers feel that their health is worse as a result of the strain of caring? That's four and a half million of our fellow citizens who haven't been able to take one week of holiday or free time when they were not having to care for someone.
We are indebted to our 6 million carers, not least Marianne, who go about their singular task with compassion, love and fortitude.
To her, and to them, and on behalf of all of us, I say Thank you.
Tim Hammond
And, not least, thanks to Tim Hammond. As MD of Barchester Homes he has given us a real insight - You have seen his staff in action at Iddenshall Hall in my constituency in the opening film.
It is impossible not to feel genuinely humble spending time alongside these wonderful, compassionate professional carers.
And it is impossible not to be moved by their determination to ensure that those in their care live out their remaining days with dignity.
And in the knowledge that this could be visited upon any one of us, or our close family, I salute the Barchester carers, and the countless professionals across the country who provide residential care and home care in both the private, and the public, sectors, and say to them: Thank you.
It's about people
Ladies and Gentlemen the issues surrounding the challenges of an aging population inevitably result in many statistics being thrown about.
And that can hide the core of what we are talking about.
We are talking about caring for real people. Husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers, friends. People like us who have simply grown old.
We are talking about caring for the generation that stepped from the burning embers of post war devastation and strode purposefully forward to rebuild a nation, home by home.
Conservatives rightly speak up for the covenant between us and those who serve our nation in the armed forces. Today I talk of the covenant between us and the generation that rebuilt our nation.
Aging population and NHS
For the first time in British history we are now home to more pensioners than children.
In the years to 2030 the number of over 65s will grow from 8 million to 12 million: from 16 to 22 percent of the population.
Why is this?
Very simply because of 3 letters: N.H.S.
Since its foundation, life expectancy in Britain has increased by 12 years.
And that is due to the skill, dedication and professionalism of its staff.
David Cameron has rightly made our NHS his number one priority. Conservatives are committed to achieving the highest standards of care and committed to it as a service free at the point of use, and available according to need, not ability to pay.
And we are committed to ending Labour's failing of the most vulnerable in our society.
Did you know that after 11 years of a Labour Government the lowest life expectancy is in inner-city Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow.
In Glasgow life expectancy ranges from the ripe old age of 82 to a scandalous 54.
54 - that's lower than in India.
Here in Birmingham, a child can expect to live to 75, but up the road in Bromsgrove that rises to nearer 80.
And this from the party, Labour, that parrots the slogans of social justice and fairness.
Government response
On top of this they dithered over this question of caring for an elderly population for eleven crucial years.
Tony Blair said in 1997 "I don't want my children growing up in a country where older people have to sell their homes to fund their long term care". Yet Labour have done so little that the Care Minister, Ivan Lewis recently claimed it was a problem they had "belatedly" recognised.
I have news for Gordon Brown: leading Britain into the credit crunch with the largest budget deficit in the industrial world, is not fixing the roof while the sun shines. Likewise ignoring the aging population through those years has seen the Government literally take the roof from over the heads of our parents and grandparents.
Impact
What else does this dithering mean?
It means that up and down the country countless older people are finding the care services provided by councils are being withdrawn.
It means that older people needing help at home have to answer up to 700 questions on 6 different forms for 8 different bodies before they can get the assistance they need.
It means that the dignity that was second nature to my mother's generation of nurses - and she is one - is too often elusive.
It means that parents and grandparents who had hoped to pass something on to their children find those hopes dashed.
Today, because of Labour's inaction in the face of rising demand, we are stuck with a system in desperate need of reform.
But let us not forget that it is more than a system - here we are talking about people's lives and their homes.
And they rightly reject as plain wrong the assertion that, because they made sacrifices and did the right thing, they are now to be punished, by the taking away from them of the house that with years of love became their home.
They deserve better and with the next Conservative Government they will have better.
Conservative response
Let me now be very very clear about what we propose to do and the commitments we are making and have made:
I have already talked of our debt to the work of unpaid carers, and I am proud that David Cameron has put respite care and flexible working as key aims of a Conservative Government.
So often it is medication that can make the difference in allowing people to grow old with dignity, particularly with diseases such as Alzheimer's.
And so I can tell Terry Pratchett that a Conservative Government will ensure that funding for Alzheimer's research is given far greater priority within NHS and Medical Research Council funding.
NICE
NICE has had some very bad press over the summer.
I will go out on a limb and say we support the idea of NICE. Without it, Ministers would be making decisions about which drugs to allow - and we have all had enough of the Government using our NHS as a political football.
But NICE should take into account all the facts about the impact of a drug, on the individual, and on those around them where appropriate - what we have called the 'wider societal costs'.
And that is why we are calling for a move to value based pricing: where drug companies are paid not according to some backroom deal, but according to the therapeutic benefit of their drugs.
NICE's focus should not be denying access to drugs, it should be finding ways of enabling those drugs to be made available on the NHS.
Our Vision
Of course, today, I do not stand before you with all the answers. With the state Labour are putting our public finances in, and the current economic crisis, you would not expect me to do so.
What I am doing is assuring you that Conservatives are grappling positively with the issue of caring for our elderly population.
We have made clear and important commitments.
But there is more to do.
Let us not underestimate the size of the problem. We are looking at a £30 billion gross cost by 2026.
That is not the cost to the taxpayer, but it is the cost that must be met through a fair allocation between the taxpayer, responsible thrifty individuals, local authorities, financial services and informal care.
That partnership is already in operation, but it is in deep imbalance.
Unpaid family carers are taking on more than they can manage.
Local Authorities, their budgets squeezed by unfunded demands from Government and Gordon Brown's NHS cuts, are cutting back the support they provide.
Financial Services, for the most part, find the catastrophic risk associated with long term care, particularly nursing care, too hot to handle
We need a system for long term care which brings clarity, security, and dignity
We need a system which both protects the most vulnerable and does not unfairly penalise those who have worked hard and been able to save.
This will only be found in a new partnership between the individual, the community, and the state, which provides effective and affordable funding, enables personal responsibility, creates a care market that works and so delivers the core objective: dignity, great care and financial security in old age.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen we often talk about our desire to give children the best start in life. That is right.
But after a life time of contributing, volunteering, working, sacrificing, and giving, it is right that today's elderly generation enjoys the best as well.
And as Ronald Reagan began what he described as "the journey that will take me into the sunset of my life" his thoughts were for his beloved wife Nancy. He spoke of the "heavy burden the family often bears" - there are thousands who would echo him when he said "I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience".
I'm proud of the country that this generation has bequeathed to mine.
And I'm determined that we will pass on a country to the next generation that treats its elderly with greater dignity and more respect.
I'm not in politics to be someone. I'm in it to do something.
And I'm in it to give voice to those who have not voice themselves.
It is Conservatives who can open our platform to people from all walks of life, while Labour hunkers down with its comrades.
It is Conservatives who recognise the real needs of older people: the pride they have in their homes, the hopes they have for their children and the dignity they want in their care.
It is Conservatives who recognise the debt this nation owes to those who have built this country up from the ashes of war.
Let us now resolve to get David Cameron into No 10 so that we can, in Government, repay that debt to the generation to which we owe so much.
This will only be found in a new partnership between the individual, the community, and the state, which provides effective and affordable funding, enables personal responsibility, creates a care market that works and so delivers the core objective: dignity and financial security in old age."