A leading Conservative cabinet member has admitted there is ‘unfairnesses’ in the social care sector but significant changes can be expected shortly.
Councils – which deliver social care – are currently under significant funding pressure largely because of adult social care.
They are faced with a perfect storm of reduced government funding, increasing numbers of people in care, people living longer with more complex needs, and the price of care increasing.
This has meant councils up and down the country, including in Nottinghamshire, have had to cut other services to ensure they can continue to pay social care bills.
Now, the newly-appointed Secretary of State responsible for councils, Robert Jenrick, has acknowledged problems in the current system.
Mr Jenrick, who is also the Conservative MP for Newark, was speaking today after visiting a new housing development in Sherwood.
He said: “The new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been very clear that he intends to fix the social care problem that has bedevilled the country for too long.
“We have a growing elderly population, that’s a good thing. People are living longer and living more active lives in retirement.
"But this is placing significant costs on local councils whose finances are in some cases in a difficult point, and it is creating unfairnesses where some people are treated free of charge on the NHS others, who through no fault of their own are having to bear very significant costs personally.
“We’re working across Government to develop proposals and the Prime Minister is going to say more about that this autumn.
“As Secretary of State with responsibility for local government I’m in constant contact with councils, including my own local council Nottinghamshire County Council.
“I fully understand the challenges they are facing, in fact I spoke last night to (Conservative) councillor Stuart Wallace who until recently ran the social care function for the county council.
“We will have a spending review in September which will set local government and social care finances for the coming year, and I will certainly be working hard to ensure that they are placed on a stable footing from which we can build, as we work with the prime minister to find a longer-term solution.
When asked whether the Government has a specific date for when councils can expect the social care green paper, Mr Jenrick said: “We don’t have a date at the moment but as I said the Prime Minister is committed to fixing the social care problem and will be bringing forward his proposals.”
