10 October 2008
The Liberal Democrats have criticised the government for 'dithering' over reform of the social care system, after figures showed elderly people paid £1.6bn in charges for care last year.
The LibDems said analysis of local authority personal social services expenditure figures, released by the NHS Information Centre, showed that means-tested social care accounted for one-fifth of the total spend on older people's care of £8.9bn.
LibDem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'The current long-term funding system for personal care for the elderly in England is simply not workable. The government has been dithering over reform for too long. We need radical reform of the system now.'
He said the LibDems had proposed an extra £2bn in funding for social care to provide older people with a 'personal care payment, based on need'.
The provisional social services expenditure figures, released on October 7, showed overall spending had increased by two-thirds in real terms over the past ten years, with total spending at £21.1bn in 2007/08.
Children's and families' services reported the biggest increase from last year, of 5%.
Provisional data for community care in 2007/08 showed 1.77 million people received adult social services care, either provided, purchased or supported by local authorities following a community care assessment – the same as the previous year.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson launched a six-month debate on the future of social care in May, asking for views on reform to the system that would be 'affordable for government, individuals and families in the long term', promote independence, ensure high-quality care, and target government support of those most in need.
PFoct2008
