WIREDGOV

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, says the historic underfunding of adult social care is impacting on the cost and quality of care.

"The historic underfunding of adult social care is impacting on the cost and quality of care and access to it. The consequences for the provider market are particularly acute and the gap between what providers say they need and what councils are able to afford is now at breaking point.

"Social care faces a funding gap of £2.6 billion by 2020. Without urgent and genuinely new government funding more providers will leave the publicly funded care market or go out of business completely.

"As we have warned before, this risks creating a two-tier system between those able to choose and pay for their own care, and those reliant on increasingly overstretched council-funded care that will struggle to meet people's needs, which is at odds with the Prime Minister's pledge for a shared society.

"Councils, care providers, charities and the NHS are all united around the need for central government to fully fund adult social care. This is essential if we are to ensure people can live independent, fulfilling lives, as well as alleviating the pressures on the NHS."

Notes

The LGA estimates that based on 'fair price of care' calculations by care providers, the immediate pressures threatening the stability of the provider market could amount to at least £1.3 billion. We also estimate that by 2019/20, a further £1.3 billion will be required to deal with the additional pressures brought about by an ageing population, inflation, and the cost of paying the National Living Wage.

Related information:   LaingBuisson's Care Cost Benchmarks toolkit