The annual report from Access Social Care revealed a 222% increase in the number of enquiries about social care needs assessments compared to pre-pandemic, as well as a 206% increase in enquiries that required specialist social care legal advice.
The report also revealed:
- 96% more advocacy queries.
- 204% more unpaid carers queries.
- 7 times as many mental capacity queries.
The report compares data across three-time frames: pre-pandemic 2019-2020; the pandemic year 2021-2022; and, the post-pandemic year 2023-2024.
The report is clear: vast numbers of people continue to struggle with accessing social care support.
Kari Gerstheimer, founder and CEO of Access Social Care, said:
“The last administration asserted they were adequately funding adult social care, whilst civil society estimates there is an annual funding gap of at least £8.4B per year. With such a reality gap, data collaboration projects like this are vitally important because they allow us to see the real issues experienced by people who need social care across a range of organisations. Year after year this report highlights serious problems experienced by social care advice seekers, and our 2024 report is no exception. In July 2024, the country voted in a new Administration. The new Labour Government say they want change, so do we. There is a real opportunity to make sure people can live their best lives by ensuring they can access the support they need when they need it. We hope this report can serve as a springboard to support positive change. We are calling for parties across the political spectrum to act now to understand the scale of social care need and to take decisive and immediate action to solve short term and long term pressures on the social care system.”
Access Social Care is a charity founded in 2020, which provides free legal advice for people with social care needs, helping them achieve a better quality of life. The full press release is available for viewing here.
