Remove social care charging entirely for working-aged disabled adults, so they don’t have to part-fund their care from state benefits designed to pay for daily living costs, like food and heating.

One of the specific asks of the Care and Support Alliance, representing over 50 social care and disability charities, is for the next Government to remove social care charging entirely for working-aged disabled adults. Here Jackie O’Sullivan, co-Chair of the Alliance, and acting CEO of Mencap explains why.

It … Read the rest

For social care, it’s time for action, not words. 

Decades of underfunding and lack of action have left social care in a shocking state, and at least, 2.6m people can’t get the care they need. The Care and Support Alliance (CSA) which has more than 50 member organisations, is asking party leaders to prioritise social care in the next parliament.

When it works well, social care changes lives. It enables people to live the lives they choose: to socialise, work … Read the rest

The reforms Boris Johnson announced will not and cannot ‘fix social care’ because they don’t improve the quality and availability of care – the new Prime Minister must go further 

New analysis by Age UK for the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) * has found that a massive 2.6 million people aged fifty and above are living with some form of unmet need for care in England. This is the best estimate so far produced for the numbers of people … Read the rest

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK and Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Today, social care needed a big injection of guaranteed, additional funding for now and the future, but the Chancellor didn’t deliver it. The extra money that was announced for local government was not ring-fenced for social care and will need to be stretched thinly across council services, after a decade of under-funding.”

“The end result is that there is no relief in sight for … Read the rest

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK and co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Our initial assessment is that while the Prime Minister’s announcement doesn’t give us everything we wanted and we are worried about the funding, it is definitely worth having and a once in a generation opportunity to improve social care that must not be allowed to slip away.”   

“At last, there’s some hope for a better future and we all stand to gain, since any … Read the rest

Today, the Care and Support Alliance, launched its ‘Big Social Care Review’ to find out about the experiences of those needing care during the pandemic.

 Take part in the survey here

An easy-read version can be found here

The survey is open to all those who need care in England and aims to get a picture of what care people have needed since March, what they have received, and what could have made things better. The last time the alliance … Read the rest

The 75 members of the Care and Support Alliance are all united that the next Government must #FixSocialCare and give the country the care they need. After 20 years of promises, it’s now time for action.

Currently at least 1.5m people do not get the care they need, some people have to sell their homes to pay for care and family carers are being pushed to the brink caring for relatives with little or no support.

The alliance agrees on … Read the rest

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK and co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance said:

“Although the devil is often in the detail when it comes to Government spending announcements, on the face of it the extra money announced for social care in 2020/21 should help to keep our current care system tottering along for another year. It should also hopefully mean that local authorities will not have to cut back their care spending this autumn, as many had … Read the rest