The Parkinson's Disease Society is concerned that savings announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in this week's Budget may affect the way some government departments are run. This may have a negative affect for people living with Parkinson's.

Some areas that may be affected include:

Health and social services
We are concerned that savings made by the NHS and social services will impact on the level of care people with Parkinson's receive.
Across the UK, there are already wide variations in the level of health and social care people can access. It is possible that plans for billions of pounds per year of cash savings from public services could result in people with Parkinson's not receiving the health and social care services they need to manage their condition effectively.

Employment

We are disappointed that an extra £1.7billion announced to support the long-term unemployed to return to work has not been targeted at people who have lost their job because of conditions like Parkinson's.
The Chancellor's statement only focused on those individuals receiving long term Jobseeker's Allowance. We are worried that people with conditions such as Parkinson's, who may not be able to work will not receive the support they need to find or stay in work. For more information on what we are doing, visit our welfare reform page.

Scientific research

The Budget's cost-saving announcements represent potential threats to the quest to find a cure for Parkinson's.
Research activities could be threatened, hindering the Parkinson's Disease Society's 40-year investment into research activities.
 

Carers

It is concerning that there has been no announcement of a review of carers' benefits in the Budget, despite the National Carers' Strategy (published in June 2008) committing to this. For more information go to our page on improving support for carers

Prescription charges

We are concerned that the impact of savings will affect the Government's prior promise to abolish prescription charges for all people with long-term conditions. Savings around the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme may have the greatest impact on this. For more information view our exemption from prescription charges campaign.