There would be clear legislation on the role of social services in leading and coordinating the safeguarding of vulnerable adults, a topic which is currently left to guidance. Care users would be able to use direct payments to purchase residential care. Under the proposals, there would be a national framework for eligibility, which would stipulate basic minimum entitlements to services. Last month saw the publication of the Law Commission’s review of adult social care law, which is proposing some significant changes to the legal entitlements and responsibilities accompanying social care provision. The Personal Care at Home Act was passed last April in ‘wash-up’ before the general election, but relies on a commencement order to take effect. The coalition government announced in November last year that it would not be commencing the Act – a symptom of the failure to achieve broad political consensus on the need for reform. Subsequent reform attempts were too little, too late. The majority of the Commission’s recommendations were never implemented.
#FIRST FORWARD EMERGENYC BREAKING IN CARE SERIES#
The Royal Commission on Long-Term Care, established six months into Blair’s first term and reporting in 1999, made a series of recommendations on care reform including paying for personal care through general taxation according to need, establishing a National Care Commission to set benchmarks, monitor longitudinal trends and represent the interests of consumers, a national carer support package and a more transparent grant and expenditure allocation system. There were opportunities to reform the social care system during Labour’s time in government which weren’t adequately seized. The system is failing to meet people’s basic needs and desperately needs to change. There are massive variations in the quality and quantity of care between different local authorities, and older service users receive less funding on average than younger ones.
In England, of the two million older people with care needs, over 800,000 currently receive no support whatsoever from either public or private sector agencies.įunding has increased only incrementally, 0.1 per cent per year in real terms since 2004, while local authority budget cuts mean that spending on older people’s care is due to plummet by £300 million over the next four years. The system simply isn’t meeting people’s needs. Earlier this week, Age UK launched our ‘Care in Crisis’ report ( pdf), which outlines the flaws in the current care system. It’s clear that the social care system in England is at breaking point and badly in need of reform.
Today Age UK, as part of an alliance of health charities and think-tanks, has written to all three main party leaders calling on them to put aside their political differences and work together to reform social care.
#FIRST FORWARD EMERGENYC BREAKING IN CARE FULL#
The past few months have been full of speculation about dissent and division between the coalition partners on AV, on pensions and most recently on health. Hilary Evans is head of public affairs at Age UK
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