Families are being forced to shell out for social care services, with councils increasingly restricting them to those with the highest levels of need. The Commission for Social Care Inspection's State of social care in England 2005/06 report reveals that councils are tightening rules about who qualifies for state-funded social care. The result is more older people relying on private care or family members and friends for support. A number of other criticisms are made in the report, including slow progress in achieving government policy ambitions, which are being hampered by some external pressures.
