Oldest people will be hit hardest by spending cuts, charity warns

The oldest people in society will be hit hardest by cuts in public spending – losing almost a sixth of their household income by 2014, according to a leading charity.

A study by Age UK shows that the average household with someone over 75 will lose £2,200 worth of public services a year by 2014, which represents about 14% of their household income. Even worse the poorest of the over-75s will lose a third of their income.

The findings, said the charity, show that old people will suffer the most from public spending cuts, “sparking new fears that far from being fair the coalition government’s spending plans are in fact deeply regressive”.

Using an analysis that discounts health, because its budget is ringfenced, and assumes that cuts to education and defence will be at least 10% and 15%, it shows the coalition government plans an extra £31bn of spending cuts on top of what the previous government proposed.

Looking at the impact of spending cuts across society, Age UK shows all households will lose out. The brunt of the cuts will be borne by those younger families with children and older pensioners. Families with children will lose out mostly through cuts to education but pensioners – who tend to have lower incomes than other groups – will largely lose out as a result of cuts to social care and housing.

The charity is calling on the government, ahead of the comprehensive spending review next month, to recognise that slashing budgets for services that people rely on later in life could have a devastating impact on the most frail and vulnerable, putting thousands of lives at risk.

What has particularly vexed campaigners is the looming black hole in social care – with a funding gap of £2.2bn opening up over the next four years if the chancellor cuts spending by 25% as predicted – leaving 500,000 of the most vulnerable older people without the vital home-based care they rely on to stay safe and well.

The issue has also troubled Stephen Dorrell, the former Tory health secretary and new chairman of the Commons health committee. Dorrell said vulnerable elderly people were being unfairly forced to pay for health care.

Michelle Mitchell, Age UK’s charity director, said: “In such difficult economic times, it would be naive to assume that older people will be offered immunity from the government’s spending cuts. But as people in later life are generally poorer and more dependent on public spending than other groups, they risk bearing the brunt of swingeing cuts unless government decisions are taken fairly and cautiously.”