Comments on local government finance settlement - social care
Today the Secretary for State for Community and Local Government, Sajid Javid, announced a£240m Social Care Support Grant (2017/18) – through savings from New Homes Bonus that will contribute towards adult social care costs.
The social care crisis is a long-term problem, with demand outstripping resources. The funding gap – the shortfall between demand for care and the money available to pay for it – was set to reach £2.5 billion by 2020.
Dementia is now the biggest killer, and with numbers of people living with dementia set to soar to 1 million by 2021, the demand for social care is only going to rise. 70% of those living in care homes and 60% of homecare users have dementia. Alzheimer’s Society predicts that the number of people with dementia living in care homes will increase to 358,000 by 2020, with associated costs reaching £4.9 billion.
Commenting on the support grant, Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “For a system as starved as social care, a funding boost in any form is desperately needed. Time and again, people with dementia and their families are bearing the brunt of the crisis. From the devoted daughter making a 200 mile trip to make sure her mum gets a hot meal to the 82 year old lady hospitalised with a urinary tract infection because she stopped getting support to have a shower each day.”
He continued, “However, this is a national crisis that needs national leadership. Today marks the first signs that the government are beginning to take social care seriously and address the fundamental disconnect between what care costs and the amount councils have available to spend on it. The long term challenges posed by the growing numbers of people with dementia needing care will not be solved by a short-term fix. We need a fair settlement which does not leave the 850,000 people with dementia worried about their care and their future.”
