The current political impasse around social care funding is having serious human consequences Health Foundation response to ADASS Budget Survey 2019

The Health Foundation has responded to the annual ADASS Budget Survey 2019 which analyses the state of adult social care finances in England. Charles Tallack, Assistant Director of the Health & Social Care Sustainability Research Centre at the Health Foundation, said:

‘The ADASS survey has rightly highlighted that the current political impasse around social care funding is having serious human consequences and reform is needed now more than ever. Since 2010/11, funding for social care has fallen while demand has dramatically increased with the number of over 85s having risen by over a fifth.

‘The Health Foundation has noted that critical staff shortages are increasingly a threat to the quality and sustainability of the social care system. Turnover rates are high with over a third of care workers and nurses leaving each year and care providers will increasingly struggle to attract and retain workers as pay in the wider economy rises. We have calculated that there will be a funding gap of £4.4bn by 2023/24 if pay in the sector is to be addressed and staff paid in line with their counterparts in the NHS. Today’s survey shows that this concern is clearly shared by directors of adult social services who have identified pay as the biggest driver of costs for care providers.

‘The time has come to ensure that we have a social care system that is as much a source of national pride as the NHS.’

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