Age UK statement on government's plans to address care challenges

Age UK has issued a statement over the government's latest plans to address challenges in social care.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:

"Yesterday the Government's Health Survey for England reported that two in every three women aged over 85 in this country have at least one unmet need for care. This finding needs to be put alongside a recent Age UK analysis, which found that 1.2 million older people (aged over 65) have at least one unmet need for care.

"Statistics like these are breathtaking and demonstrate just how big the care gap has been allowed to become over the last few years.

"Against this context any additional money for older people's care has to be viewed as good news but what has been announced today is clearly totally dwarfed by the scale of the care crisis and will make little practical difference to most older people who are trying to get by with insufficient support, or no support at all.

"The extra funding announced today will not be enough to counteract the pressures bearing down on care providers and councils - which ultimately are resulting in many older people being badly let down. As a result we look ahead with considerable foreboding and we are deeply worried about the future facing frail and vulnerable older people, especially those who are alone - as many are.

"A national initiative, led by Government, to put older people's care on a sustainable financial footing cannot happen too soon."