To ask what we do to help with the cost of social care?

[AdultsSocialCare]

Adult and childrens social care takes up the majority of all council tax spend. This leaves a small amount for everything else that councils do.

What is the solution?

I feel like ultimately the central government need to give more money to councils but the chance of that has to be next to nil.

So, what else?

Euthanasia? What about those young adults that need full time care? A huge amount of social care funding goes there.

Happy now? Did that disgraceful ageist rant make you feel better? Let’s hope you never get old, eh?

A National Care Service would still mean people were assessed for the care they needed and wouldn’t get their laundry and cleaning done just because they decided they didn’t feel like doing it anymore.

The 2010 white paper on the proposed National Care Service suggested a 10% levy on a person’s estate so we are not taking about people losing everything. Of course those who had no estate to leave at their death would not be able to leave anything just as those who are unable to work cannot contribute financially to the state for healthcare, roads, schools and so on. However, the model of universal insurance is to pool everything as a society for certain services, so no one faces being without and everyone knows the service is there if they ever need it. The NHS was seen as a universal benefit and even many well off used it. Sure there would be a small v rich minority that would use private. As the funding for the NHS has decreased and the level of care becomes poorer more are turning to private care and the universal system collapses. In this individual society that has developed in the last 40 years I fear too many would raise the objections you have made and would not support the creation of a National Care Service which I think is a crying shame as I think it’s the best model for things like health, care etc.

Ps and to add to my comment, a universal system of care would work out cheaper for the middle classes than paying privately. At the moment if someone is unlucky enough to get an illness like dementia and need a lot of care for the last few years of their life they can lose so much financially. A universal system spreads the risk and so no one faces losing so much. Sure the v rich will always have enough money to finance their care but the rich are always outside the system for the majority.

And one more comment when I said I think a universal system for some services like care, health is the best model, I am not saying it would be perfect, no model is, but I think it’s the best choice out of the different models available.

They need to increase central government funding.

But not from people like me. I already pay 10% of my so called take home in council tax ie I am paying tax on my wages already at 32%. Then every time that I buy anything I'm paying Vat on that.

So I don't know how you would do it, but I'm fucked if I'm giving more of my wages so that folks with loads of money in the bank keep more to give to their children when they die.

*They need to increase central government funding.

But not from people like me*

Sigh

Well it's true.

Either that or people who can pay, pay. If that means selling a house worth a million bought for £12k, do it. At least you can, now, before the crash/recession.

But ordinary working people earning less than fifteen quid an hour, when that won't even pay for the electricity your fridge uses next month, can't afford it.

Give families proper support when caring for someone in the home, as even those extra costs would be MUCH cheaper than placing them into care homes.

You want the solution - first step is go and work in a care home.

And I don’t mean that in a snarky way as I absolutely do see you are really trying to get to the bottom of this.

And that’s part of the main problem we have; policies and solutions are made and designed by people who have never worked in or even experienced social care. It’s just an abstract concept to them.

As involved as family’s are too I genuinely don’t think they either have a full understanding of the machine that is a 50 person + 24/7 365 care home.

Its skilled labour, it’s expensive to run and it’s not just carers who work there.

And to the hate for big chain private care homes.

Well having worked in care homes of varying degrees all I will say is I know where I would want to end up and that’s not a local authority funded home - not the ones I have seen anyway!

Any ideas on improvement to the system from the financial perspective?

I absolutely appreciate the machine you refer to.

Perhaps more frequent cqc inspections raising care quality expectations to not have that LA view you mention?

I'm starting to think there really is no solution until central government put their hands deeply into their pockets.

I think starting up apprenticeships for in demand jobs like nurses would be helpful.

I would have trained as a nurse at one point, but being a single parent with no financial support from parents/partner meant that I had to get out and work. I currently have a good job that I qualified for all through on the job training and qualifications.

We need more care assisntants. Why not let people come in as trainee care assistant, then qualified care assistant, trainee nurse, qualified nurse etc. I don't think the issue is a lack of ambition or desire to have more responsibility and earn more, it's just the practicalities of taking 3 years out of earning to study that puts of many.

They do have nursing apprenticeships. You still however need a degree as a nurse - research shows that degree level educated nurses reduce patient harm.

One wouldn't argue that you should be able to be a lawyer or junior doctor without a degree.

Do you mean the route via the Open University? Where I live it is very competitive/nearly impossible to get on. But a larger version of this is what I was envisaging, making it easier for care assistants to become social workers and nurses.

I'm not against people getting a degree, but I think it could be remodelled so that you're earning a degree and earning money at the same time. Look at ways to make the study more flexible so people can fit it around their commitments.

Children's homes close after BBC reveals failures www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62144399

The BBC understands that money was paid back into the firm's limited company account - which recorded huge profits last year. Calcot's profit margin in 2021 was 36% - more than twice the level termed excessive by a government watchdog.

Appalling management and abuse at this place.

AND they are absolutely creaming the profits.

Perhaps the money is there but is being put into the back pockets of private companies rather than spread within the social care system.

My MIL is in a nursing home and will not leave it alive, yet her house cannot be sold to pay for her care until she dies. In the mean time she is paying to maintain a home that is empty, and there is a housing shortage.
In this situation the house should be sold to pay now instead of the council/tax payer paying, and to free up housing.

Give better support and funding to families to support elderly and disabled people in their own home/community instead of putting them in expensive, often unsuitable hospitals/care homes. Carers allowance is an absolute disgrace.

I don't know where you live, OP, but my county council's budget for this year has the following spending allocation:

Children's services (education) £256m
Children's services (social care) £6m
Adult social care £53.5m

So education takes more than 4 times the budget share of social care, and that's in a county with a high proportion of older residents and a very high proportion of over 80s.

I think councils need more government money for all services, tbh.

Absolutely, and one which is appallingly badly paid for what care staff do.

Running care homes is very profitable for the companies that provide the care.

50% of budget on adult services

30% on children

20% left for everything else outside of adults and childrens.

Let’s not overlook the care cap of £86k which will be coming in next year which will further restrict the money coming into the system.

The idea that someone with a house worth £££ will be allowed to keep it to pass on while the state funds their care over £86k is absurd.

The state should be paying for all those who can’t afford their own care needs, not those who would rather not spend their own money. It is absurd, and as usual disproportionately hits those who have the least.

Agreed. Fortunately this is all smoke and mirrors because the £86k cap applies only to the healthcare element, not “hotel” or personal care costs - which are the majority of care home fees.