Councils provided long-term care to fewer people last year than they did a decade ago, according to a new report.
Analysis by The King’s Fund found that in 2023-24, local authorities supported 859,000 with long-term care, down from 873,000 in 2015-16.
This is despite the fact that over the same period, the number of people requesting help increased from 1.8 million to 2.1 million.
The new report describes a ‘doom loop’ of rising wages, increasing fees, stretched budgets, and less care available to those who need it since the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016.
It warns that although the situation has improved in the past two years, councils are set to face a ‘double whammy’ of minimum wage increases and the upcoming rise in National Insurance contributions.
Report author Simon Bottery said: ‘Unless the Government makes sure local authorities have enough money, there is a real risk that even more people who need care will have to go without.’
