WIREDGOV

Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing spokeswoman, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, responded to a study by disability charity Revitalise on councils' spending on services for disabled people and their carers following the introduction of the Care Act, 

"The Care Act has the potential to radically improve the lives of older people, people with disabilities and their carers, and councils have done everything they can to implement the reforms.

"However, the continuing underfunding of adult social care by government has limited councils' ability to provide support to vulnerable people and their carers. Less than a third of councils say they are confident there is enough money to meet growing levels of need this year and beyond.

"The Government's social care precept has enabled councils to raise council tax by 2 per cent to meet the rising costs of social care. While this extra income will help, it will in many cases have to be spent on additional cost pressures such as inflation, increased demand for care from an ageing population, and the recent introduction of the National Living Wage that will increase care costs.

"We therefore call on the Government to listen to councils, care providers, charities and the NHS and – at the very least – bring the £700 million of new funding earmarked for social care through the Better Care Fund by the end of the decade forward to this year."

Further information:

http://revitalise.org.uk/news/care-act-fails-in-first-year-finds-revitalise-study/

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/pdfs/ukpga_20140023_en.pdf