Social Care: reform of funding and delivery

There is almost universal consensus that the current system of social care funding is unsustainable and in urgent need of reform. Many older people and adults with disabilities, well as their families and carers, are being failed now and under the existing arrangements highly unlikely that in future the state will be able to support the costs of rising demand for long-term care. By 2026 it is estimated that one in five people will be aged 65 or over and number of over-85s will have increased by two-thirds – this compares with overall population growth of just 10 per cent. The 2009 Budget revised down the government’s forecasts for what it expects to spend on public services and benefits from 2011/12, but given that the existing system is unsustainable doing nothing is not an option, even in the current economic climate. This briefing from The King’s Fund looks ahead to the Green Paper on social care, expected in June, and sets out the key tests that any new settlement will need to meet.

(Published May 2009, 3 pages)