Age UK Calls For Change
Age UK are calling on Government to:
- Recognise the imminent danger which social care is now in and commit to an urgent injection of funds in the Spring Budget.
- Lead a process for developing a long term solution to the care crisis that incorporates the views of older and disabled people and all parts of the health and care sector.
This will engage the public in the important question of how we pay for a decent care system we can all rely on when we need it.
Responding to the report fro, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, said:
“Age UK’s report is deeply disturbing and is further evidence of a broken system. It is yet another warning sign of the worrying times we face in how we provide care for some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and follows a sector-wide consensus around the need to properly fund adult social care.
“We have been clear all along that social care is in grave danger of falling apart and failing, unless new funding is announced by government.
“Social care faces a funding gap of £2.6 billion by 2020.
“Genuinely new government money is now the only way to protect the services caring for our elderly and disabled people, and carers, and ensure they can enjoy dignified, healthy and independent lives, live in their own community and stay out of hospital for longer.
“If no new money is urgently announced, then government needs to be honest and upfront with the public about the limitations of the care and support we can provide, and the fact that as a society we will no longer be able to meet the ambitions and objectives of the Care Act.
“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 fulfilling lives, as well as alleviating the pressures on the NHS.”
