Poorer people more likely to receive inferior social care, research finds

Older people living in the poorest parts of the country are more likely to receive inferior social care, research has found.

Labour Party analysis of CQC data found that a quarter (24%) of the services in the 10 most deprived parts of the country were rated Inadequate or Requires Improvement, compared with only 15% in the 10 wealthiest areas, The Guardian reported.

Barbara Keeley, the shadow minister for mental health and social care, said: “People in the most deprived areas of the country are bearing the brunt of the Tory social care crisis. It’s time that the Tories ended this postcode lottery of care quality by following Labour’s lead and investing in our social care system.”

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The research revealed councils in the poorest areas had suffered the most from government funding cuts.

Average council spending on social care fell by 13% between 2009-10 and 2016-17 with 400,000 fewer older people receiving care as local authorities tightened eligibility criteria.

Meanwhile, care home insolvencies have almost doubled due to local authority cuts and rising costs, soaring by 83% in 2017/18 (see Care home insolvencies soar by 83% in 2017-18).