Incoming PM needs to act fast, says Care and Support Alliance, as new analysis finds 2.6m aged 50+ now have some unmet need for social care

Incoming PM needs to act fast, says Care and Support Alliance, as new analysis finds 2.6m aged 50+ now have some unmet need for social care 

The reforms Boris Johnson announced will not and cannot ‘fix social care’ because they don’t improve the quality and availability of care – the new Prime Minister must go further

New analysis by Age UK for the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) * has found that a massive 2.6 million people aged fifty and above are living with some form of unmet need for care in England. This is the best estimate so far produced for the numbers of people in mid-life, as well as of above State Pension Age, who require assistance with one or more activities of daily living, like washing and eating.  

The 2.5 million over-50s in this position are equivalent to 12%, or one in eight of the entire same age population in this country.  

In response to this shocking statistic the Care and Support Alliance (CSA)*, is calling for an urgent cash injection to address the increasing pressures on the care system caused by a shortage of money and staff. Social care is chronically underfunded and many local councils struggle to meet the care needs of their communities. An ageing population as well as a growing number of disabled people of working age, means problems are escalating with central Government funding not keeping pace with the consequent growing demand for care. Unfortunately, the pandemic made an already bad situation even worse. 

Latest data by Age UK and the Care and Support Alliance show that:  

• 70% (1.8 million) of those with an unmet need for care have difficulty dressing          
• 18% (450,000) of those with an unmet need for care have difficulty walking across a room 
• 47% (1.2 million) of those with an unmet need for care have difficulty bathing or showering 
• 12% (320,000) of those with an unmet need for care have difficulty eating 
• 36% (930,000) of those with an unmet need for care have difficulty getting in and out of bed 
• 23% (600,000) of those with an unmet need for care have difficulty using the toilet 
• 7% of people in their 50s have an unmet need for care, 12% in their 60s, 15% in their 70s, 21% in their 80s and older 
• 21% (540,000) of people with an unmet need for care are often lonely, compared to 6% of people who have no need for care and 12% of people who have a need for care which is met 
  
  Age UK analysis of data from wave 9 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, scaled up to the population of England using data from the 2021 Census.) 

The local authorities that are responsible for funding social care are facing severe financial pressures due to a long term lack of funding from central government. Social care providers are facing increased costs, and skilled, low-paid carers are leaving the profession in droves, often to work in retail or the NHS, where terms and conditions are more favourable. Unfortunately, at the same time people who need care are paying more but often receiving less – some have had their care packages reduced or cut altogether, and thousands of others are still waiting to be assessed by their local council.  

Furthermore, recent evidence suggests almost three quarters (73%) of Social Services Directors are reporting more breakdowns of unpaid carer arrangements (ADASS Spring Survey 2022) - with family members struggling to continue providing high levels of care without sufficient outside support. There has also been a sharp drop in the number of unpaid carers in England reporting that the person they care for has used services, allowing them to take a break from caring for more than 24 hours - 19.6 per cent (57,280 people) in 2018-19 compared to 13.3 per cent (42,800 carers) in 2021-22 (Personal Social Services Survey of adult carers in England report, 2022). The number of carers who said there had been no discussions about the support or services provided to the person they care for in the last year grew from 31.2 per cent (91,250) in 2018-19 to 36.1 per cent (116,360) in 2021 (Personal Social Services Survey of adult carers in England report, 2022). 

The Care and Support Alliance believes that the reforms that Boris Johnson announced as Prime Minister in September 2020 will not and cannot fulfil the promise he made to ‘fix social care’ because they do not improve the quality and availability of care – the things that really matter if you or a loved one needs this support, which is never a ‘nice to have’ and always a necessity. Instead, his reforms focus on subsidising the cost of care for some people who pay for their own services, especially if they need them for a long time – a good thing to do but not nearly enough on its own. The 2019 Conservative Manifesto said that older and disabled people, and their unpaid carers, deserve the support they require to live decently. At the moment we seem further away than ever from that aspiration being met.  

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK and Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said: 

“To have as many as two and half million over-50s now living with some unmet need for care is truly astonishing, and it shows how far below an acceptable level of operation our social care services have been allowed to fall. This number is equivalent to one in eight of the entire same age population, and the lack of support must be having a huge impact on all these people’s ability to live a normal life and participate in and contribute to our society. There’s no doubt that the long term neglect of social care services by central Government is having very real consequences, not only for the individuals whose lives are at best diminished, and their families who often have to pick up the pieces, but for other public services too, especially the NHS. What folly it has been for our politicians to be so careless about such a crucial public service – it’s high time that changed and I hope our new Prime Minister will turn the page and take a more intelligent approach to social care.”  

“At the moment all the data point to social care becoming weaker as time goes on, not stronger, particularly when you look at the state of the workforce, where vacancies are increasing month by month. This is scarcely surprising when you consider how uncompetitive the terms and conditions in social care now are: the incoming administration must understand that they will not begin to turn the curve on quality and access in social care until they ensure care staff are properly recompensed for the incredible work they do.”   

Jackie O’Sullivan, Communication Director of Mencap and Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:  

“These figures are shocking enough, but with the increasing staff shortages these numbers are only going to increase unless the Government takes bold and urgent action to getting social care the funding it needs.  

“Many younger disabled adults are being condemned to living lives where just getting out of the house is a constant struggle, they then can’t work, volunteer or meet people. They just stay stuck inside.   

“We need an urgent cash injection from the Government to address all these ongoing pressures on the system caused by the pandemic and in the longer-term need funding targeted at supporting decent pay rises for our hard-working care workforce. This is the only way the sector can get back on an even keel.”   

“The years of lack of investment means the scale of the challenge is huge and demands urgent action now. The millions of older and disabled people putting up with inadequate services, if they get any service at all, need the incoming PM to get a grip of the problem and aim for transformation through proper reform, but as it stands it is never going to be possible with the meagre funding allocated by the government up to now.” 

*** The Care and Support Alliance represents over 60 leading charities campaigning for a properly funded social care system in England alongside the millions of older people, disabled people and their unpaid carers who need decent care.  https://careandsupportalliance.com/membership/

Notes to Editors.  

 Additional stats from Mencap

 * In a recent Mencap survey, over 70% (71.5%) of family members said their loved ones spend less time outside of the house compared to before the pandemic, and half of (50%) families say reduced social care support is part of the issue. Some of the key reasons included services being temporarily or permanently closed or reduced (64%) and a lack of staff (47%).

Reference

Mencap ran a survey with 580 family members and carers of people with a learning disability in the UK. The survey ran for 3 weeks from 07/02/2022 to 28/02/2022 and was hosted on Alchemer. 

[i] Survey conducted by Opinion Matters, surveying 2,001 nationally representative UK adults, between 01.10.2021 – 05.10.2021.