Barbara has called on the Government to take action in the upcoming Autumn Statement to solve a national crisis in social care funding

Barbara raised serious concerns about the chronic underfunding of social care at a joint Parliamentary meeting of MPs and the main care organisations. This followed an open letter to the Prime Minister by the Care and Support Alliance, which stressed the urgency of the need to address the serious underfunding of social care.

Barbara said:

“Social care funding is in crisis and failure to invest in it now will cause significant problems in the future, both to people who need care and to the NHS. We know that many care providers are struggling to carry on. Nationally, 400,000 fewer people are receiving care compared to 2009. In Salford, Government cuts to City Council budgets have meant an estimated 1,000 people have not had access to publicly-funded social care.”

“The Conservative Government recently abandoned its pledge to put a cap on care costs for people who have to pay for their own care. I am calling on the Government to give the money that was set aside for this pledge to local councils to help close the funding gap in social care.”

“The Government must address the chronic underfunding of social care in the Autumn Statement. If they continue to ignore this, care organisations say we face a serious collapse of services which are vital to older and vulnerable people and their carers.”

You can read the open letter from the Care and Support Alliance to the Prime Minister here.