Social care services are facing a situation that is ‘more perilous than ever’ with 43% of providers closing services or handing back contracts, a new study has revealed.
The 2023 Sector Pulse Check report found that the £7.5bn funding boost in the 2022 Autumn Statement has done little to address the key issues facing the struggling social care system.
Commissioned by learning disability charity Hft and Care England, the research learnt that 40% of adult social care providers were in deficit in 2023 because of energy cost increases and the rise in the National Living Wage.
As well as closing services and handing back contracts, 39% of providers considered exiting the market altogether. Just under 20% told the researchers they offered care to fewer people last year.
Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, said: ‘The narrative that social care is under pressure is not a new one. What’s disappointing is that we find ourselves in a worsening crisis amid the Government’s narrative of ‘record investment’ into the sector.
‘While the Government did make substantial commitments in the 2022 Autumn Budget, the outcomes have not matched the ambition. The new money into the sector has not led to tangible change or any significant progress towards “fixing adult social care”.’
