£7 billion leached away from social care funding by austerity-obsessed Government – Barbara Keeley

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health and Social Care, responding to the CQC’s State of Care report, said:

“Repeated hammer blows to health and care services from this austerity-obsessed Tory Government has led to unsafe mental health wards, social care "deserts" and emergency departments which have become overwhelmed. 

“Cuts to council budgets, which have seen £7 billion leached away from social care funding, combined with the continued underfunding of front-line mental health services have led to a deluge of unsafe services. There’s also been a deluge of patients in acute hospitals because they are unable to access mental health treatment and social care services locally. 

“No amount of plaster sticking from this Government will plug the deep holes in our health and care services. It’s time the Tories stopped tinkering around the edges and followed Labour’s lead by investing an additional £8 billion in social care services and by increasing and ring-fencing mental health budgets, so funding reaches the front line.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• ·         £7bn of cumulative cuts have been made to adult social care funding since 2010. Source: https://www.adass.org.uk/media/6434/adass-budget-survey-report-2018.pdf (p.7)