£15 billion extra will be required by 2030 to cope with the rising number of older people – without improving the quality or quantity of services which are seen to be in crisis.
This is according to a July 2018 report on support for older people by Fabian Society, supported by Age UK and Hanover Housing Association.
The report claims that annual increases of 7.5% are required to meet frail pensioners support and care needs, which is far more than the extra promised by ministers.
It includes chapters by:
- Barbara Keeley, Labour MP and Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care, who sets out Labour’s staged vision for reforming the system
- Andrew Harrop, Fabian Society:
If we are to tackle the crisis, we need to go beyond today’s debate and fundamentally reform the way we pay for all the programmes that assist older people to live well.
- Lord Filkin, Chair of the Centre for Ageing Better:
The biggest public policy challenge of our longer lives is not funding the NHS and social care but the shocking social gradient in ageing… Poorer people and poorer com- munities live shorter lives and become ill or disabled earlier.
- Dame Clare Tickell, Hanover
With the population of over-75s set to nearly double in the next 20 years, it is essential that government policy aims to have appropriate housing that meets various needs.
- Heather Wakefield, UNISON
Behind the wall of silence surrounding the lives of care workers – more than 80% of them women – there are shocking tales to be told and very serious lessons to be learnt about how we transform our care services.
- Caroline Abrahams, Age UK
Once people understand how social care is funded and how vital it is for millions of older and disabled people they want to improve it – for themselves, their loved ones and indeed for the population as a whole.