Councils vulnerable to demand spikes for care as public's enquiries aren't tracked

Too many councils in England, Wales and Scotland are not tracking enquiries made by the public about adult social care - sparking concerns that they are unprepared for sudden spikes in demand for care.

Councils aren't tracking public's care enquiries. Credit: Fizkes/ Shutterstock

Failing to track enquiries is leaving councils at risk of sudden spikes in demand for care and pressures on local authority budgets, warns later life finance specialist Key.

'Extremely concerning'

Freedom of Information data gathered by Key, reveals the number of local authorities recording care enquiries from members of the public has fallen by 18 per cent, when compared to the previous year.

Councils in the East Midlands, East of England and the South East of England admitted they do not record care enquiries at all.

Will Hale, chief executive at Key, said: “It is extremely concerning that they are not recording the number of people who contact them with regards to adult social care as this makes resource planning far harder as a time when it is vitally important.”

Some councils made no change to care provision despite Covid

With the government's planned introduction of the care cap in England due October 2023, Mr Hale said “the next 18 months will be critical as councils, consumers and the organisations that support them work to prepare.”

Key’s Care Report: Tackling the Care Question (the third published since 2019) asked councils across Britain about demand for adult social care and is based on data received in June 2021 from over 200 organisations.

Local authorities have faced greater demand for care services with an ageing population - compounded by the Covid pandemic – which has left their resources stretched.

But the research revealed six per cent of councils admitted making no changes to adult social care provision to cope with Covid-19.

The majority (71 per cent) did increase their funding for care homes and 71 per cent increased the number of regular check-ins for shielding adults.

Data provided by councils in England, Wales and Scotland. Credit: Key

More than half (56 per cent) set up a new hotline for Covid-19 queries. Fifty-five per cent boosted the number of people assigned to support vulnerable adults and 48 per cent increased the number of social and care workers they employ.

Just one in 20 councils (five per cent) provided local authority tax relief to care homes.

Around 40 per cent of the people receiving care were fully-funded. This rises to 76 per cent in the North East, 64 per cent in the East of England and drops to 24 per cent in the West Midlands and down to 19 per cent in Yorkshire.