Sense comments on the social care reforms announcement
11 February 2013
As members of the Care and Support Alliance, we support the partial welcome for the announcement on funding social care. It is a very partial acknowledgement because the proposed new system will do nothing for disabled people, who do not have a large income or own their own house.
Further, while its crucial to address social care for older people, the reality is that one in three people claiming social care are disabled people of working age who have immediate needs now. The announcement will do nothing to reduce the shocking shortage of care for many disabled people and does not address the overall funding crisis.
Sue Brown, Sense’s Head of Campaigns and Public Policy, states:
"Unless the Government sets out an entitlement to social care support for disabled people with so-called ‘moderate needs’, the current scandal will continue. At Sense we know people who are both deaf and blind whose needs are being categorised as ‘moderate’ thus excluding them from vital social care."
Quotes from deafblind people from Sense’s recent “Fair Care for the Future” report:
“I am so isolated. I have missed out on a lot of information. It makes me depressed and ill.”
“I don't get any social or leisure activity because without support I can't get out of my flat.”
Media enquiries
Jenny Rush
Tel: 07554 889 339
Out of hours: 07770 580 843
Email: jenny.rush@sense.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Fair care for the future: Why social care matters for deafblind people - download the report
Evidence about the size and level of impact of the social care crisis on working age disabled people can be found in The Other Care Crisis, a report by Scope, Mencap, National Autistic Society, Sense and Leonard Cheshire Disability