Warning on ‘triple whammy’ cost crisis

THE UK’s social care system has been brought to its knees by a triple whammy of rising demand, higher costs and lower funding, according to experts.

And the Chancellor is warned today that he must not waste this month’s Budget opportunity to replace the £7billion in cutbacks that the service has faced since 2010.

More than 90 groups, under the umbrella of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG), told Philip Hammond that he must seize the opportunity to strengthen the UK’s social care system before it is too late.

VODG chief executive Dr Rhidian Hughes said: “Social care is a vital public service but is a victim of a triple whammy of squeezed funding, increasing demand and increasing costs.

“This impacts on disabled people and adversely affects other public sector services such as the NHS. Our ageing and growing population means there’s a growing need for social care for disabled and older people.

“It’s not too late for government to improve the fragile state of the adult social care system and to safeguard existing and future support for people who rely on care services.”

The group’s new report describes the growing threat to the nation’s vital care and support services.

Local authorities’ planned savings for adult social care in 2018/19 are £700million, cumulative adult social care savings since 2010 have amounted to £7billion, and the Government has yet again postponed its Green Paper on any long-term funding plan.

Voluntary and not-for-profit providers predominantly serve publicly funded clients, so are disproportionately affected by adult social care budget cuts.

The report also stresses the knock-on effect on the NHS of a failure to focus on social care as a national priority.

The VODG is calling on the Government to urgently pump more money into social care services and build more accessible and adaptable homes for disabled people.

Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said: “With people living longer, increases in costs and decreases in funding, adult social care is at breaking point.”

‘It is not too late to improve the fragile state of the system’