Social care’s future is in Sunak’s hands

AGE UK Bath and North East Somerset and B&NES Carers Centre are calling on the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak MP, to give councils the extra money they need to provide decent care services for older and disabled people now and over the next three years, when he announces the outcomes of his Spending Review at the end of October.

We know that good social care makes such a big difference to people, including round here in Bath and North East Somerset, and their families too. In fact Age UK Bath and North East Somerset’s recent survey shows that “fixing social care now” was the biggest priority for older people with 36 per cent of people saying it is crucial for everyone.

We are pleased that the Prime Minister has announced more help for people who face sky-high care bills, but virtually none of the funding that goes along with his plan is set to arrive in local areas like ours

before autumn 2023 at the earliest, and most of it is tied up with administering the new care cap.

Yet many people here and elsewhere need more help from good care services now. They can’t afford to wait until 2023.

Unless more money comes into social care via local councils very soon, more and more people will have to put up with inadequate provision, if they can get it at all.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is holding the future of care in his hands. That’s why we are calling on him to play his part in “fixing social care”, as the Prime Minister has promised, through the funding decisions he makes in a few weeks’ time. For people who need help here in Bath and North East Somerset and, indeed, throughout the country, the stakes really are very high.

We are committed to building an area where people age well and getting adequate social care now is key to that commitment becoming a success.

Simon Allen

Chief Executive Officer of Age UK Bath & North East Somerset