Councils have been shedding social services staff at a rate of 10,000 a year since 2011, latest statistics have revealed.
Two-thirds of local authorities cut the number of adult social services posts between 2013-14, during which time the overall workforce was reduced by 8%.
A report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre found more than half of councils said cutbacks were due to restructuring. Other key reasons cited were outsourcing and redundancies.
Simon Bottery, director of policy at the charity Independent Age, said:???? ‘Most care services depend upon people – they cannot be performed by machines or carried out remotely – so the loss of this number of jobs is deeply worrying and illustrates starkly the fact that around 360,000 fewer elderly people are now receiving care from their councils compared to five years ago.
‘Combined with the rise in careworker jobs in the private and voluntary sectors, the figures confirm that many council care services are being contracted out and some abandoned altogether, with many older people no longer eligible for council support funding their own care directly from private care agencies.
‘The reduction in qualified social worker jobs also raises question marks over councils’ ability to properly implement the Care Act when it comes into force in April, requiring them to carry out many more assessments than previously as more people become eligible for funding and register with their councils to count spending towards the “cap” on care cost which will come into force in 2016.’
