Two thirds of councils are ‘unaware’ of how many disabled adults in their area are currently being cared for by family and friends at home, a disabilities campaign group has revealed.

A new report from Sense has found 1.7 million disabled people are currently supported by their friends and families, and three quarters of them have no plan for the future.

Entitled When I’m Gone, the report discovered 67% of carers have ‘profound fears’ about what will happen to their relative when they are no longer able to provide care.

While only a third of councils are aware of how many disabled adults in their areas are dependent on a relative or friend, only a quarter of councils routinely provide support to make contingency plans for future care.

Sense is calling on the Government to create a duty to ensure that plans have been put in place. They also called for more social care funding to be provided to local authorities.

Responding to the report, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘Thousands of disabled people and their carers are currently supported by councils through care and support services and information and advice, and this report rightly calls for government to ensure social care is adequately and sustainably funded so this can continue.

‘Immediate pressures and the £2.3bn funding gap facing social care by 2020 needs to be addressed by government in the forthcoming final Local Government Finance Settlement to help provide disabled people with complex needs, and their carers, with the care and support they rely on from their local council every day and in the future.’ Link: https://www.sense.org.uk/support-us/campaign/when-im-gone/