Over 450,000 disabled and older people have been excluded from state-funded care as social workers have been ordered to unofficially apply tougher eligibility tests, according to research commissioned by the Care and Support Alliance (CSA).
The CSA is a consortium of over 70 organisations, including Disability Rights UK, that represent and support disabled and older people.
Among the key findings of the research are that:
- the number of people receiving social care has fallen five years in a row - by a total of 347,000 since 2008;
- when considering demographic change during this period, this means that almost half a million older and disabled people who would have received social care five years ago, now receive no support;
- just to keep pace with demographic changes, spending on social care would have needed to rise by £1.6 billion.
While supportive of the Care Bill currently going thorough Parliament, the CSA says it will not improve the lives of disabled and older people unless it is matched with long term, sustainable funding.
In addition, the CSA urges the Government to invest in a ‘national eligibility threshold’, that will ensure that those older and disabled people who need care are eligible to receive it.
Changes in the patterns of social care provision in England: 2005/6 to 2012/13 is available @
http://www.pssru.ac.uk/archive/pdf/dp2867.pdf