In a report to mark the tenth anniversary to it becoming law, the Local Government Association claims it has laid a foundation for progress in the social care sector but its aims have not been realised because of a lack of funding.
The act consolidated and modernised adult social care law into a single statute. It also brought about significant legal changes including putting safeguarding adults work into law for the first time; setting a national eligibility threshold for access to care; introducing rights to advocacy for people who would otherwise struggle to be involved in assessments and other processes; giving carers equivalent rights to assessment and support as adults, and requiring councils to provide preventive services.
However, the report was highly critical of the way the government had funded adult social care over the past decade, through authorities raising funds through council tax – including the ring-fenced adult social care precept – and the use of short-term grants.
“A hand-to-mouth financial system based on short-term funding injections is not a sustainable or efficient model for the future of adult social care,” it added.
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