Responding to the Care Quality Commission’s State of Care report,
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing
Board, said:
“This report raises important concerns and highlights the
brilliant work across the system to maintain quality of care,
something that becomes harder each year as the consequences of
pressures build further. It also provides yet more evidence of a
system under significant pressure and in desperate need of
securing a more long-term and sustainable solution for how, as a
country, we pay for social care.
“Councils across the country are working closely with their
counterparts in health for the benefit of people requiring
services, however with people living longer, increases in costs
and decreases in funding, adult social care is at breaking point
and its potential for helping people to live the lives they want
to lead is at risk.
“Over recent years, councils have protected adult social care
relative to other services. But the scale of the overall funding
picture for local government as a whole means adult social care
services still face a £3.5 billion funding gap by 2025, just to
maintain existing standards of care. The likely consequences
of this are more and more people being unable to get quality and
reliable care and support, which enables them to live more
fulfilling lives.
“Action is needed, which is why, following government’s decision
to delay its green paper on adult social care, the LGA published
its own green paper consultation to drive forward the public
debate on what sort of care and support we need to improve
people’s wellbeing and independence, the need to focus on
prevention work, and, crucially, how we fund these vital
services.
“The Government must use the Budget and Spending Review to inject
desperately needed funding into adult social care and use the
green paper to secure the long-term sustainability of the
system.”
