In response to the Public Accounts Committee report on adult social care in England, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said:
“The Public Accounts Committee report should act as a stark warning to the government that its flagship Care Act might fail for lack of money. Providers of services and representative groups have been saying this for months. It is simply not good enough for the government to just trust to luck that local authorities will find the efficiency savings to fund a transformation of social care. All the evidence shows that councils are failing even to keep up with current demand”.
“The PAC is right to highlight the fact that one of the unfair consequences of current underfunding is low pay for care workers. The committee raises the disturbing possibility that this may be linked to an increase in safeguarding reports. While we believe that poor working conditions can never be used to excuse mistreatment, we agree that there is an urgent need for more research into the extent and causes of mistreatment, poor care and abuse”.
“We support the PAC’s attempts to spotlight coordination failings, particularly between the Department of Work and Pensions and other departments. It is absurd that local authorities are tasked with identifying those in need of help when the DWP is already sitting on data about the millions of recipients of disability benefits, most of whom are not in contact with their local authority but ought to be”.