Councillor Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, has responded to research by Prestige Nursing + Care showing that the average annual cost of a care home in Great Britain increased by 9.6 per cent between 2016 and 2017.
He says: “Councils are doing everything they can to help people and their families understand the cost of care, and to minimise any stress and difficulties that this places upon families.
“Councils work with providers to set a fee but this report is yet another indication of the stark reality facing adult social care, which is at a tipping point.
“We have been warning that adult social care services face an annual £2.3 billion funding gap by 2020. As part of this, the care provider market needs an urgent and immediate injection of £1.3 billion just to bring much needed stability.
“We also need fundamental changes to the way we fund adult social care if we are deliver a long-term sustainable system that works for adults of all ages, and provides peace of mind for older people and their families, allowing them to be able to plan ahead for future care costs.
“It is absolutely vital that government acts and addresses the social care crisis in next week’s Autumn Budget.
“As a minimum it should set out in further detail the intention to bring forward proposals for adult social care mentioned in the Queen’s Speech.”
