Disabled people have high expectations for the Government’s Care Bill following promises from Ministers that these reforms will revolutionise the social care system to make it fit for the 21st century
Indeed, a lot is at stake. Despite what is often reported in the media, social care is about more than whether or not you will be able to inherit your parent’s house. For disabled people it is the difference between being isolated, stuck at home staring at the same four walls, or being set on the path of living a full and independent life.
A
Scope surveyfound almost 40 per cent of disabled people who currently receive social care support are not having their basic needs met including eating properly, washing, dressing or being able to get out of the house.
And the Government have taken some vital steps forward in this area. Promoting the ‘well-being’ of older people and disabled people has been placed at the heart of the Bill and the Government has committed to creating a more preventative care system- meeting people’s needs at an early stage before they reach crisis point.
And at the Spending Review in June the Government committed to investing an additional £2.8bn in social care in the Spending Review in June, on top of the £1bn committed in the 2010.
But what the success of the Bill hinges on is eligibility- are you in the care system or are you out?
The House of Lords will be debating this exact question today.
The Government recently published regulations to accompany the Bill, confirming that you are only eligible for care if you have ‘substantial’ needs. What this means in practice is that over 100,000 disabled people with so called ‘moderate’ needs will be denied essential support to live their lives.
However the label ‘moderate’ is misleading. People with ‘moderate’ needs require support to get washed, get dressed, cook a meal, and leave out the house. This support is not a luxury or a ‘nice to have’. It is vital in ensuring disabled people can undertake the most basic day to day tasks so they can live their lives with dignity.
And denying disabled people this support comes with a hefty price tag.
Research by Deloittehas shown that investing in £1.2bn in social care for disabled people with ‘moderate needs’ will result in a £700m return for central Government and £570mreturn for local Government and the NHS, because it prevents disabled people falling into crisis and needing to access more costly support further down the line- longer hospital stays, frequent re-admissions, even the need for residential support.
But while charities including
Scope, as well as
Age UKand Saga, are concerned that the Government’s regulations have set the bar far too high for care, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) believe that the regulations are not set high enough. Fearing that the regulations are too generous and will open the floodgates to allow thousands more disable people and old people into the care system, ADASS’ president has said ‘the risk to local authorities is that the threshold is too low’.
Clearly more questions need to be asked of the Government’s intentions around social care. While we don’t know what the detailed regulations mean yet in practise, more progress can still be made. Do they want a care system which denies disabled people the ability to even leave their home? Or do they want a care system which enables disabled people to get out and about in their community and reach their potential? The decision is theirs.
Join the debate at the PoliticsHome Policy Focus on the Care Bill
here