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Social care is on the up politically. You will have heard the chancellor say in his summer statement that there was £3bn for social care to ensure older people don't fall between the cracks of the health and social care systems. And, you will have heard ministers laud the Care Bill, currently finishing its Parliamentary stages, and say prevention will be the focus rather than crisis intervention. But we hope that you have checked this political good news story by listening more closely to people receiving care services because if so you will have heard a different story. Age UK has today released figures showing that, despite rising demand, the amount spent on social care services for older people has dropped by a massive £1.2bn (15.4%) since 2010. Since then, to help compensate for substantial wider cuts in local government budgets, £438m was transferred from the NHS budget to local authorities. However, this still leaves a shortfall of £769m, even if every penny was spent on social care, and how direct this transfer was is by no means clear. So, if you are listening to care service users – and to many front line staff too - you will have heard of restricted access, increased costs, concerns about the quality of care received and anxiety that care services are not always delivered in a way that promotes dignity. National political assurances about big improvements to care services ring rather hollow as a result. Age UK is calling on the chancellor to grasp social care funding by the horns in the budget and recognise that if political words are to be translated into change on the ground then we need to invest in social care provision. Social care is a growth industry, providing employment for hundreds of thousands and a potentially rewarding career for many more, but it needs financial underpinning at a national level. If the Government can stop the rot in terms of care funding then the good intentions of the Care Bill may be realised and local authorities could really play their part in realising better outcomes for social care users and their families. Angela Kitching is head of public affairs at Age UK

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Chancellor must grasp social care funding

By Angela Kitching | 06 March 2014

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