Given the introduction of the Government’s White Paper on adult social care we thought we would lay out some of the statistics.
The social care system was founded in 1948. The average life expectancy then was 66 for men and 71 for women. The average life expectancy now is 78 for men and 82 for women. If trends continue, which some say is unlikely, children born today will have a life expectancy of over 100. It is predicted that by 2026, an additional 1.7 million adults in England will have care and support needs. The number of people with dementia in the UK will increase from 750,000 to over 1 million people by 2025. The number of people with a learning disability needing care or support will increase by 50% by 2018. More than £16 billion is currently spent on social care per annum. By 2030 this will have risen to an estimated £45 billion.
We’ve seen mixed reactions so far. Groups seem to welcome the decision to tackle the issues surrounding social care, but there is ‘despair’ (Carers UK) and ‘disappointment’ (Age UK) at the delay to reform; the Alzheimer’s Society even went so far as to say the White Paper ‘isn’t worth the paper it’s written on’.
Whatever the outcome it’s clear that change needs to happen and we will be watching closely.