Carers UK responds to latest budget survey from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) carries out a survey each year of the 150 Directors of Adult Social Care in England.The report based on the survey provides data and evidence on the breadth of social care from those who are at the heart of commissioning and delivering it.
Key findings include:
- £700 million savings planned to adult social care budgets in 2019/20.
£7.7 billion cumulative savings since 2010. - For 2019/20, only 33 per cent of directors of adult social services are fully confident that planned savings of £699 million will be fully met in the year, with 65 per cent directors being partially confident.
- 39 per cent of Directors of Adult Social Services (DASSs) stated the biggest pressure to adult social care budgets was from working age adults (17 per cent in 2017/18).
- Only 35 per cent of DASSs are fully confident that budgets will be sufficient to meet all of their statutory duties in 2019/20.
- Directors are least confident about meeting statutory duties relating to care market sustainability (62 per cent 2019/20, 79 per cent 2020/21), followed by prevention and wellbeing.
Commenting on the ADASS 2019 Budget Survey, Helen Walker, Chief Executive at Carers UK, said:
“The latest survey of Adult Social Care Directors points to bleak prospects for older and disabled people and the families that support them. The care funding gap has now become a chasm as cumulative cuts of £7 billion this decade mean further rationing of vital care as well as cuts to information and preventative services that can delay future needs developing. 600 people a day are leaving paid jobs in order to care for family or friends as care and support needs go unmet (1).
The ADASS budget survey paints a picture of councils in England having to make impossible decisions affecting some of the most vulnerable in society in a context of growing demand and uncertainty about future funding.
Local authority surveys of carers themselves have shown the stark impact on the health and wellbeing of unpaid carers that the care funding crisis is causing. The numbers of unpaid carers experiencing stress, depression and sleep deprivation is growing (2). Worryingly, today’s survey reveals a quarter of Directors of Adult Social Care expect the quality of life of unpaid carers to get even worse in the next two years.
The future Prime Minister must take responsibility for ending the mounting care crisis; putting in place immediate funding and a clear path to a sustainable funding solution. Carers and their families have already waited too long for consistently high quality and affordable care and access to the breaks and support carers need for their own health and financial security.”
Footnotes
(1) Carers UK (2019) Juggling Work and Unpaid Care
(2) NHS Digital data published 25th June, Increase in adult carers feeling stressed or depressed https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/survey-of-adult-carers
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