Responding to the National Audit Office’s report into the financial
sustainability of local authorities, Margaret Willcox, President of
the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS),
said:
“Social care is an essential support for us when we are older or
disabled. Local government knows this because it knows its local
communities. So despite the stark reality of the biggest cuts in
public services, it has prioritised its citizens with the
greatest needs.
“However, local councils have had to make terribly difficult
decisions that mean that fewer people get the trusted care they
need, care providers are closing homes, while in some parts of
the country there are no home carers to get people safely home
from hospital.
“Councils wisely spent £1 billion in emergency government funding
last year to address the risk of failure, which is reflected in
fewer delayed transfers of care. But people are living longer and
costs are rising, including the welcome national living wage.
“Adult social care simply cannot continue with short term fixes.
There are more than a million people with unmet need, with around
a third of these coping with loneliness much or all of the time.
Councils’ ability to prioritise prevention measures – key to
long-term savings to the public purse – are being impacted due to
funding pressures.
“Government needs to grasp the nettle and talk with all of us as
responsible citizens about how we value our needs for care and
support and how we pay for it, not just for next winter but also
in 25 years’ time.”
