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24 November, 2020 Open access

Survey of more than 100 councils in England shows sharp increase in requests for social care during coronavirus pandemic

Without further funding, caring arrangements that millions rely on will break down and costs will be paid for by society and the economy, ADASS warns

A survey of more than 100 councils across England has shown there has been a sharp increase in requests for adult social care during the coronavirus pandemic, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has said.

In its Autumn Survey 2020 - a snap annual survey of English local authority adult social services directors - ADASS finds that many councils are reporting unprecedented demands for social care services -

In addition, the survey finds that just 23 per cent of social services directors are fully confident that their budget will be sufficient to meet the duties they are required to meet in law, with the same proportion having no confidence, and 53 per cent having partial confidence that budgets will be sufficient.

As a result, ADASS warns that unless adult social care is prioritised in the government Spending Review tomorrow, millions of people could be at risk of receiving no care or support as the coronavirus crisis continues.

Commenting on the findings, ADASS President James Bullion said -

‘For the first time, we have hard evidence of the scale and breadth of the impact of COVID-19 on those of us who are working-age disabled people, older people, family members, and carers.

This should be a wake-up call for the government, and it must respond. The risk is that unless adult social care is prioritised in the Spending Review, the caring arrangements that millions of us rely upon will break down and the cost will the paid by society and the economy.

This is an opportunity to send a clear signal that working-age disabled people, older people and carers are recognised, valued, and protected. Failure to invest now will also make the goal of long-term reform so much harder to achieve’

For more information, see ADASS Autumn Survey Report 2020.