It’s fair to say a common perception of politicians is that they will say whatever they need to in order to follow the party line (even if that sometimes means abstaining on a vote… which I generally find the weirdest of all choices).
That’s why when warnings come from people on the ground doing the job, it’s always worth taking the time to listen.
This is exactly as it was with recent concerns flagged by the Association of Directors of Adults’ Social Services (or ADASS). The organisation represents the people who are directly responsible for providing adult social care services up and down the country.
They tell us that three in four local councils are no longer confident they can meet their statutory care duties as demand for those services is just too high. The pinch point will come in the winter
when demands rise sharply again, leading to concerns about the level of care which can be provided.
It’s a hugely depressing picture playing out across the UK, including in Reading, and the result of an underappreciated sector which has been undervalued and underfunded by this Government for a criminally long time.
Our own Director of Adult Social Care tells me that we are not one of those councils saying we will not be able to meet our statutory duties – which is, naturally, welcome news – but she also reports that it will continue to be a challenge to keep us above the water, so to speak.
The local picture is that over the past two years, referrals for adult social care services in Reading have increased from an average of 60 per week to 80 per week.
It may surprise you, but as a Council we now support more people aged under 65 than we do residents over 65 years of age. The average age of service users in Reading is 62, and this is decreasing year-on-year. That reflects Reading’s demographic as a town with a relatively young population. The flip side to that coin, however, is that it adds considerable pressure to strained
budgets, as younger residents use these essential council services for longer.
I always find it difficult to talk budgets when referring to council services which provide care, support, and dignity to some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Cost should not, and
is not, at the forefront of the minds of people doing the job, but the fact remains that as a Council we need to always have one eye on the spreadsheets because they ultimately dictate the number of
people we are able to help care for.
Where Reading performs well against other comparative local councils is the number of people supported in long-term services. Among our cohort of comparative councils, Reading’s figure was
the lowest (in 2021/22). This is because we understand that people want to live independently at home for as long as they can. For a number of years now, the Council has followed this approach
where it has been possible and supported people to continue to live at home with a wide range of assistance on hand when they require it. Our wider focus remains firmly on prevention, helping to
keep people out of hospital and out of care, and reablement, putting the necessary support in place to help people recover and lead independent lives.
We also have the third lowest spend on people aged 65 and older in our cohort of local councils. We achieve this by working hard to secure best value, but also because our ‘home first’ approach means we strive not to place large numbers of people in residential or nursing homes unless they really need it.
Like every local authority, we also recognise the huge importance in Reading of unpaid carers and the vital role they play in our communities. As such, over the coming weeks we will be considering both how we can ensure the voices of Reading’s hidden army of unpaid carers can be better heard and how we can identify and respond to their priorities going forward.
The ADASS survey came around the same time as a separate report by the King’s Fund, which found people in the UK are now less likely to survive treatable conditions like cancer or strokes than those in other rich nations. The long-term underfunding of the NHS is cited as a likely cause, even as the amazing NHS staff continue to do an incredible job under hugely trying circumstances.
Whether it is adult social care or our NHS, the cost of 13 years of Conservative rule is clear for all to see.
