In response to the Personal Social Services: Expenditure and Unit Costs, England 2015/16, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, the older people’s charity, said:
“The figures published today lay bare the devastating impact of spending cuts on care services for older people. Overall, we see spending on care services for people over 65 reduced in both cash terms and in real terms. Spending on support for people who struggle to see or hear has been cut, as it has people who need help just to get around. We can see that there has been a year-on-year reduction in spending on information and prevention, and support for carers. These figures make a mockery of the Government ambition for a country in which no one is left behind and the reduction in spending on prevention is at total odds with the intention to reduce demand on the NHS and other public services. We need to see urgent action, beginning with the Autumn Statement, to ensure that care services for older people are properly funded now and in the future.”