Cuts 'have created two-tier care'
Budget cuts have created a "two-tier system" in elderly care homes, with the vast majority of council-funded providers saying they are not paid enough to deliver the quality of service the public wants, according to a Labour survey.Some 98% of residential home care providers in England said the fees paid by councils are too low to meet public expectations of quality.
And 92% said this is resulting in a two-tier market, with investment directed at wealthier areas of the country where more elderly people are able to pay for their own care.
Labour's survey suggested that average funding from local council fees dropped by 0.1% in cash terms between 2009/10 and 2011/12 - equating to a "significant real-terms cut" once inflation is taken into account.
As a result, the survey found that 82% of residential care providers said they were charging self-payers more to cross-subsidise those funded by the council, 60% said they were reducing beds for council-funded residents, and 70% said they were holding back on investing in facilities.
Labour care and older people spokeswoman Liz Kendall said: "This survey provides yet more evidence that our care system is in crisis. More than £1 billion has been cut from local council budgets for older people's social care since the Tory-led Government came to power.
"Councils are being forced to pass on these cuts to care providers. This is having a devastating effect, with some of the most vulnerable people in society facing a two-tier service or being forced to pay more for care they desperately need."
But a Department of Health spokesman responded: "The Government has provided enough for councils to maintain the current levels of access and eligibility for care home residents. In the Spending Review, the Government recognised the pressures on the adult social care system, and took the decision to prioritise adult social care by allocating an additional £7.2 billion up to 2014/15.
"Ultimately the amount of money and where councils allocate their funding on social care is decided by them. We will publish our White Paper on care and support and a progress report into funding reform shortly."
Des Kelly, executive director of the National Care Forum, said the survey's results "confirm the significant challenges faced by all care providers seeking to meet rising expectations of quality standards whilst also developing new, more personalised, services".
Labour care and older people spokeswoman Liz Kendall said: "This survey provides yet more evidence that our care system is in crisis. More than £1 billion has been cut from local council budgets for older people's social care since the Tory-led Government came to power.
"Councils are being forced to pass on these cuts to care providers. This is having a devastating effect, with some of the most vulnerable people in society facing a two-tier service or being forced to pay more for care they desperately need."
But a Department of Health spokesman responded: "The Government has provided enough for councils to maintain the current levels of access and eligibility for care home residents. In the Spending Review, the Government recognised the pressures on the adult social care system, and took the decision to prioritise adult social care by allocating an additional £7.2 billion up to 2014/15.
"Ultimately the amount of money and where councils allocate their funding on social care is decided by them. We will publish our White Paper on care and support and a progress report into funding reform shortly."
Des Kelly, executive director of the National Care Forum, said the survey's results "confirm the significant challenges faced by all care providers seeking to meet rising expectations of quality standards whilst also developing new, more personalised, services".
© 2013 Press Association