More than two million older people struggling with basic aspects of living alone

In England, there are over two million older people struggling with basic aspects of living alone in England, according to a new report by Independent Age and the Strategic Society Centre.

The Bigger Picture report suggests that older people struggle with washing, dressing and cooking for themselves, whilst nearly half a million people provide care for a loved one and only 20 per cent receive council funded support.

The Care Act will become effective from April 2015 and requires local authorities to take responsibility to provide help and support for older people in their communities and their carers.

Director of policy at Independent Age Simon Bottery, said: “The Care Act is intended to ensure that older people receive better care and support but this new research highlights alarming gaps even in existing levels of care.

“Councils need to be acting now if the promises of the Care Act are to be fulfilled but national government also has to ensure that there is enough funding to properly implement it. In particular, we need to properly fund preventative services which delay the moment when older people need more intensive care and support.” The study focused on the requirement for social care by the over 65s and the criteria for care when the Care Act is introduced in April 2015.

The report has revealed that 160,000 people who receive care support but consider it to be insufficient to their needs, whilst a further 70,000 disabled older people receive no care or support at home, either paid or unpaid.

In addition, older people were most likely to be in receipt of a disability benefit rather than any kind of care or support from their local authorities.

The Bigger Picture report used information relating to over 65s in England from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing 2011-2013, published by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Social Care Information Centre.

James Lloyd, the director of the Strategic Society Centre added: “This research shows the scale of the challenge facing local authorities and national policymakers, if aspirations to support older people with prevention and information contained in the Care Act are to be achieved.

“We will need a revolution in how councils, communities and families support older people who struggle with different aspects of living independently.”

The Bigger Picture report has been published one week after the National Audit Office warned that over half of local councils would not be financially viable to provide the services that they hoped to within the next five years.

Furthermore, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services emphasised that additional budget cuts to social care services would prevent important support and care services being provided to disabled and older people who need them most.

The study hopes to help care providers and councils prepare for the introduction of the Care Act by offering a thorough look at the care needs of members of the older population throughout the UK.