Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
New proposed social care reforms as study reveals potential social care postcode lottery for access to long term care
The independent charity the King’s Fund launches ‘radical social care reform proposals’ after its new study revealed that access to long-term social care is operating like a ‘social care postcode lottery’.
The King’s Fund launches ‘radical social care reform proposals’ after its new study revealed that access to long-term social care is operating like a ‘social care postcode lottery’.
This week the independent charity the King’s Fund, which focuses on improving health and care, released the findings from its new analysis and found that the proportion of people accessing long-term care varies significantly by location.
The study compared local areas that were ‘statistical neighbours’ and looked at the number of people accessing publicly funded long-term care. The study found that the number of working-age and/or older adults accessing long-term social care varied by at least 20% in over half (59%) of councils, despite them having similar economic and social profiles. One example comparing Thurrock and Medway saw 60% more older people in Thurrock access care than Medway, despite both areas having similar demographics and economic profiles.
This wide variation means that some similar local authorities are supporting up to twice as many people per 100,000. The King’s Fund has said the variation shows that social care reform needs to include an ‘equal access’ national assessment to “eliminate a postcode lottery”.
The King’s Fund proposed reforms to social care
Earlier this week, the King’s Fund set out its recommendations to reform the social care sector to ensure that everyone who needs to access social care can access some state-supported help and has the freedom to choose how they receive support regardless of where they live. The proposed reforms come as the Prime Minister sets out plans for a National Care Service.
The King’s Fund had advocated for the following social care reforms:
- universal access to publicly funded care, but with co-payments from users
- a cap on lifetime care costs
- national, rather than local, funding for social care
- clear individual entitlements to social care support
Currently local authorities spend around 40% of their annual budget to provide adult social care support, with funds raised by council tax and business rates and grants from central government. The charity suggests that a council’s ability to raise these funds, as well as differing levels of wealth, need, and council resources, could explain the variation.
The charity’s proposed reform would see that the role of local authorities would change, allowing them to help people find the care instead of being the ‘gatekeepers’ of public funds.
Simon Bottery, co-author of the work and Senior Fellow for Social Care at The King’s Fund, said: “Currently, one in seven people aged 65 will spend at least £100,000 in lifetime care costs.
‘We must also introduce fairer, national funding of social care, with greater choice and control for people and their families over how their care needs are met.
‘The Prime Minister and Baroness Casey’s commitment to reform is clear, but we are still awaiting the concrete policies that will turn this vision into a reality. To achieve that, their proposals will need to focus not just on who pays but on how the wider system operates on the ground. “
