Labour Party : Reckless cuts causing crisis in social care

Swingeing frontloaded government cuts to council funding have led to an average 8.4% cut in budgets for adult social care budgets this year. This could be a devastating blow to a care system which is now in crisis, Labour Shadow Ministers have said today.

A report by Age UK which is to be published on Monday 27 June reveals an 8.4% cut to council budgets for adult social care and a fall of £610 million in net expenditure on older people’s social care from 2010-11 to 2011-12. Age UK have warned that the cuts could hasten the collapse of a social care system in England which is already crumbling.

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government said: “Tory Government cuts to council budgets went too far and too fast. We now have a crisis emerg ing in social care and Government budget cuts are making it worse.

“Eric Pickles should have listened to council leaders who pleaded with the Government not to front-load the cuts.”

Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Care Service Minister, said: “Labour warned from the start that the Tories’ plans to slash council budgets would mean deep cuts to care services and would see the most vulnerable in our society suffer.”