Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has criticised the government for leaving social care services to fend for themselves as waiting lists swell.
600 people per day are joining the list of people waiting to be assessed for care and support in England. A survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) suggests that almost 300,000 people are now waiting for an assessment of their needs by social workers, an increase of 90,000 (44%) in five months.
Councillor Sykes said, “The government is leaving social care services £10bn short and expecting already stretched councils to plug the gap. Social care waiting lists are getting out of control and with price hikes and a hard winter ahead, things are only going to get worse. The government is running out of time to get a grip on this.”
New waiting lists numbers come after a damning social care report was given in Parliament by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. MPs heard how the government hasn’t even come close to fixing the funding gaps in adult social care. The full report entitled ‘Long-term Funding of Adult Social Care’ was published by the House of Commons on August 4th.
Councillor Sykes said, “We have a distracted government that has taken its eye of the ball just as care services are starting to collapse under the strain. Whoever the new Prime Minister is, we need urgent action on social care funding, not more empty promises.”
Long-term funding of adult social care (second report) – for reference Long-term funding of adult social care (parliament.uk)