Government must stump up for social care

The social care system in England is in crisis. MPs will know from their inboxes the many stories of older people who are unable to access services they need, experience poor quality care or face alarmingly high costs to pay for their care. This is a real and increasing problem facing individuals and the country as a whole. There are over 800,000 older people with care needs currently not being met. Spending on social care has fallen dramatically in real terms in recent years yet the number of people aged 85 and over, the group who are most likely to need care, has risen by 30% since 2005.

The Care Bill is a big step in the right direction with the potential to improve the lives of millions of people. However, there is a real risk that provisions in the Bill will be undermined by inadequate funding and an eligibility threshold that excludes many of those in need.

At the moment, faced with huge cuts to their budgets, many local authorities have cut or frozen funding for preventative level social care since the last election. Real terms spending on social care has fallen by around £770 million since 2010 and people are waiting longer and longer for a place in a care home. With the best bill in the world, need will not be met without the assurance that adequate funding exists.

In addition, the new national eligibility threshold in the Bill is set too high – the equivalent of ‘substantial level of need’ – and will exclude far too many. People will only become eligible for the cap on care costs when they qualify for social care under this high bar of the new eligibility threshold. The result will be that the cap will exclude the vast majority of people. Official Department of Health figures estimate that only 1 in 8 of all older people who use social care will benefit from the cap on care costs.

Parliament has the opportunity to address these flaws as MPs consider the Bill at Report Stage on Monday. New Clause 9 in the Bill: ‘Reporting on the funding for new costs arising from the Care Act’ could make all the difference. The amendment would require the Care and Support Programme Board to report annually on whether sufficient funding is in place to ensure that the provisions in the Bill can be implemented. Importantly, the Programme Board would also commission a five-yearly review of eligibility criteria. These changes would make sure there is adequate scrutiny of the level of funding and eligibility threshold, ensuring that provisions in the Bill are matched by the resources to really change the lives for people in need of support.

Age UKand other charities as part of the Care and Support Alliance are urging MPs to votefor the New Clause 9 on Monday. Millions of older people in every part of the country will be hoping they heed this advice.