• Lib Dems to create ambitious £10,000 Skills Wallet for every adult
• Lib Dems: Tories making social care crisis even worse

Lib Dems to create ambitious £10,000 Skills Wallet for every adult

The Liberal Democrats have set out their vision for a “new era of learning throughout life” with the creation of an ambitious Skills Wallet. This will give every adult £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their lives.

A Liberal Democrat Government will put £4,000 into people’s ‘Skills Wallet’ at 25, £3,000 at 40 and another £3,000 at 55. The grants have been designed to encourage saving towards the costs of education and training throughout adult life.

Individuals, their employers and local government will be able to make additional payments into the wallets. Access to free careers guidance will also be provided.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, Sam Gyimah, said:

Working hard should mean secure work and a decent income, but for too many people that’s not the case. In an ever changing workplace people often need to develop new skills, but the cost of courses and qualifications shuts too many people out.

Neither the Conservatives and Labour have the answers to these challenges. They are stuck pursuing 20th-century policies that simply won’t work in our 21st-century economy. They would take our country backwards.

Only the Liberal Democrats have a real plan to build a fairer economy and a brighter future. We will create a new era of learning throughout adult life with Skills Wallets for every individual, providing them with £10,000 to spend on education and training at various stages of their lives.

By stopping Brexit and investing in our Skills Wallets, Liberal Democrats will empower people to develop new skills so that they can thrive in the technologies and industries that are key to the UK’s economic future and prosperity.

Lib Dems: Tories making social care crisis even worse

Responding to the report by the IFS stating that councils will need billions of pounds in additional funding to meet the rising costs of adult social care, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, Luciana Berger said:

It is absolutely appalling that our elderly and most vulnerable people are missing out on vital care, with family members having to give up their jobs to fill the chronic gaps in the social care system.

Not only are the Conservatives ignoring this crisis, but they are committing to policies in this election which will make the problems even worse.

The nurse tax being proposed by Boris Johnson will disincentivise people working for the NHS, but the situation is even worse for social care workers who aren’t entitled to the miserable plan they have put forward for nurses. By pursuing Brexit and imposing a points based immigration system the Conservative Government will sabotage any future ability to recruit much needed and valued social care workers.

A Liberal Democrat government would ensure our social care system has a sufficient workforce, by stopping Brexit on day one as well as urgently investing in social care through putting a penny on the pound on income tax. In this once in a generation election, only the Liberal Democrats are giving voters the opportunity to build a brighter future.