Coalition cuts threaten services for the elderly

KENT NEWS: Social care services will continue to be cut unless the Government protects the funding given to local authorities, an expert has warned.Last month Kent County Council announced plans to close three residential care homes for the elderly while selling off several more to the private sector, saving County Hall some £2 million per year.Professor Julien Forder - principal research fellow at the University of Kent's Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) - told KOS Media such cuts were to be expected due to social care being funded differently to institutions like the NHS.He said: 'The coalition Government made a commitment to protect the NHS spend, but social care doesn't fall under that.'Instead the Government gives local councils an annual sum, and from that it's up to the councils as to what they want to spend it on.'There were no explicit promises in the emergency Budget to protect the funding that goes to councils for social care, and it looks like there will be quite significant cuts in the future.'Things are going to be constrained for social care in the coming years unless the Government changes its current funding arrangements.'Along with the London School of Economics, the PSSRU was commissioned by Age UK to look at how spending cuts could affect social care in the future.They projected the budget could be trimmed by £900m over the next two years, which coupled with the rising demand from the ageing population could increase the number of people being excluded from care.Prof Forder said: 'There are currently about one million over-65s who are receiving some form of support, but what we found was that by 2012-13 that figure will probably go down by half.'But it's important to bear in mind that the people who won't benefit in the future will be those who are currently at the lower level in terms of how much social care support they require.'It's unlikely those who depend on it the most will be the ones who miss out.'Age UK charity director Michelle Mitchell said Chancellor George Osborne should 'put his money where his mouth is' when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable in society.She added: 'If ministers introduce cuts which deny support to half the older people assessed as needing care at home, lives will quite simply be put at risk.'