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The King’s Fund comments on the LGA’s new social care report
Commenting on the Local Government Association’s Adult social care funding: 2016 state of the nation report, Richard Humphries, Assistant Director of Policy at The King’s Fund, said: ‘Spending cuts and the unwillingness of successive governments to reform the funding system have left social care in a perilous state.
‘More than £5 billion has been cut from local authority social care budgets over the past five years, which has had a huge impact on older and disabled people, their families and carers. The crisis in social care is also exacerbating pressures on the NHS, with record numbers of patients who are fit to be discharged finding themselves delayed in hospital.
‘It defies all sense and reason that social care spending will slip back to less than one per cent of GDP by the end of the parliament when the number of older and disabled people is increasing and demand for services is rising.
‘This is an unsustainable situation, and the Care Quality Commission has recently said that the social care market has reached a tipping point. The top priority for the Autumn Statement later this month must be to increase funding for social care. This is a key test of the Prime Minister's promise of a more equal country that works for everyone – there is no more burning injustice in Britain today than older and disabled people being denied the care they need to live with independence and dignity.’
Notes to editors:
The King’s Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible care is available to all.
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