T H E P U B L I C A T I O N F O R N U R S I N G A N D R E S I D E N T I A L C A R E H O M E S INSIDE THIS ISSUE Editor's Viewpoint
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Issue 19 2024 MARCH/APRIL
Issue 71
Lack of Government Action Leaves Social Care Struggling …As Social Care Requests Hit “Record High”
Social care is under ‘intense pressure’ and must be reformed after a record 2million adults asked for support last year, a report has warned, and has led to calls for next government to make social care a priority after years of reform being “consistently dodged or delayed”. The King’s Fund Social care 360 report warns that adult social care support continues to stagnate following a lack of action to reform the sector by successive governments, with local authorities seeing a surge in applications for publicly funded care over the past decade but the number receiving it has fallen. Social Care 360 trends for 2022/23 show that: • Financial eligibility continues to tighten, with financial thresholds for help with the costs of care not having changed since 2010/11.
• The cost to local authorities of purchasing care continues to increase faster than inflation – since 2015/16, the average weekly fee for working-age adults increased from £1,400 to £1,540, the average weekly fee paid for older people increased from £670 to £840, and the average hourly rate for home care increased from £17.50 to £20.60 (in real terms – taking inflation into account). • The social care workforce vacancy rate is still at its second highest-ever level, despite the arrival of around 70,000 overseas workers. • There are approximately 19,000 fewer unpaid carers receiving direct support than in 2015/16, and 21,000 fewer people receiving respite care, over the same period.
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