Elderly care budget faces cuts: Age UK report

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJun 28 2011

According to a report by charity Age UK, spending on social care for the elderly has been cut by around £600m this year. The research was based on 139 council responses under the Freedom of Information Act, and has uncovered an 8.4% cut to elderly care budgets.

It said 61 councils intend to increase charges for services like home help and day care centers. Charity director at Age UK, Michelle Mitchell, said, “Funding for social care is already inadequate and the system today is failing many older people at the time when they really need help. We are fearful that even more vulnerable older people will be left to struggle alone and in some cases lives will be put at risk. We anticipate these cuts will condemn many more older people to a miserable existence behind closed doors struggling to keep safe and well.” The charity predicted the impact of such a cut could be “devastating” as the system was already at crisis point.

The government disputes the charity's figures. Care services minister Paul Burstow questioned the figures, suggesting the situation was not as bad as claimed. He admitted that the budgets were “under pressure” but said that did not always lead to deterioration in care. “While some councils may simply be cutting care, others are working hard to get more for less with innovative ways of delivering better care, including using more telecare and cutting needless admissions to hospital and residential care,” said Mr Burstow.

The findings come after extra money was promised in the 2010 spending review. Ministers said £2bn more would be invested in social care by 2015, with the first tranche coming this financial year. This was earmarked for both elderly care and younger adults with disabilities.

But the Age UK research suggested that the money was not yet getting through to the frontline of elderly care. It asked all 152 councils with responsibility for social care for data on their spending plans and service provision for the elderly for this financial year.

Councillor David Rogers, of the Local Government Association (LGA), pointed out while extra money had been promised by ministers for social care, it was being cancelled out by the wider cuts to local government - its budget from central government is being reduced by a quarter over the next four years. “As the LGA warned last year, and this report backs up, government funding cuts have left councils with huge gaps in their adult social care budgets. Savings have to be found and tough decisions will have to be made in some areas,” he said.