Care providers fear lack of urgency in Government commitment to helping older people

Last week’s Spending Review included some positive announcements on the future of care provision, but has achieved little to reduce the current anxiety surrounding the well-being of the UK’s ageing populace.

In the first impression of what government priorities might be after a 2015 election, Chancellor George Osborne announced that a £3bn fund would be directed into health and social care, in order to realise the vision of full service integration that has so far seen only limited success.

£335m will also be made available to local authorities in order to prepare for key care reforms, including the long awaited cap on individual care costs scheduled for April 2016, as well as universal deferred payments to safeguard those at risk of losing their property to care costs.

Care at Partnership managing director Chris Horlick comments: “The Spending Review for 2015–16 delivered another round of cuts for local authorities, with 10 per cent being trimmed from their budgets. However, it did contain some good news with additional funds being put aside to help with the introduction of the proposed care reforms and the new national minimum eligibility threshold being confirmed.

“The additional funding will certainly be welcomed by local authorities who are already reorganising services to improve efficiency and deliver savings. However, with adult social care needs continuing to grow, further savings will still need to be made.”

Mr Horlick is not alone in these concerns. Jane Ashcroft, the chief executive of Anchor, one of the UK’s leading housing and care home providers, is supportive of a move towards sustainable services, but has criticised the government for a ‘sluggish’ approach to what is already a crisis.

Ms Ashcroft’s position is drawn from her company’s own research of clients, with the Anchor claiming that 50 per cent of care service users over 55 believe that the system is in crisis because of central government failings, while only 23 per cent of older people feel confident they will be able to access quality care if and when required.

Anchor’s research also reflects poorly on the record of the Coalition in power, with only 6 per cent of those over 55 believing that social care has improved since 2010. This is accompanied by statistics that show 66 per cent of older people believe MPs ignore older people’s issues, and 67 per cent see the Coalition as far too inactive in helping the sector’s problems.

Ms Ashcroft is also among those disappointed to see no word, as yet, on the appointment of an Older People’s Minister, a debate that has heated up since the creation of a similar position in Wales last year. Held by minister Sarah Rochira, the position is perceived as championing the rights of older people at a political level – something Ms Ashcroft feels older people in England would also benefit from.

She comments: “Anchor, along with 137,000 supporters, has been calling for a more holistic approach to older people’s needs by the appointment of a dedicated Minister for Older People. Only by making one person accountable for the evolving needs of our ageing society can we protect future generations as well as those vulnerable older people living in the UK today.”

Care UK chief executive Mike Parish strikes a similar note, seeing many positive aspects to the Chancellor’s speech but finding little in the timescales involved to feel satisfied with, while also being wary of issues in making the most of funding potential.

He comments: “We need to develop a system of more integrated care pathways that move away from the present model of reactive and last minute healthcare to more planned and preventative care.”

“The Spending Review has also frozen council tax and imposed a 10 per cent cut in the resource budget for local authorities. Council’s are already struggling to meet the growing demand for social care services; we’re seeing first-hand how the tighter eligibility criteria for support is making life tougher and more isolated for many, many older people. These cuts are going to make that situation worse so the £3bn investment, when it arrives, is going to have a lot of ground to make up before it starts improving the situation for some of our most vulnerable members of society.”

Mr Parish concludes: “As always, the devil is in the detail and we look forward to finding out more about how local authorities and the NHS will solve this long running challenge.”

Joining the call for urgency, Chris Horlick highlights the false economy of depending on individual assets to pay for care, believing that both local authorities and service users will benefit from a quicker implementation of care reforms, though he stresses that families need to be well-informed in order for the system to work.

He comments: “The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) has suggested that 25 per cent of people who fund their own care deplete their assets prematurely, falling back on the state at an estimated cost of almost £500m a year in England alone.”

“However, by ensuring that this group of people are referred to independent, regulated financial advice, it could mean that local authorities are protected from this liability.

“It is therefore essential that referral to independent, regulated financial advice is included as part of the Care Bill so that people can be informed of how best to pay for their care needs. Our research demonstrates that only 15 per cent of people would seek advice from a financial adviser – this has to be addressed now.”