If you’re looking for your weekly round up of social care news, then look no further than the Friday Five: Social Care! Every week, we’ll run you through five of the social care news items for the week that we think you’ll want to know about. No digging through the newspapers or the internet because we’ve done it for you. So, what’s been going on?
1. King’s Speech: No Social Care Reform
Disappointingly, there was nothing in the King’s Speech relating to social care. Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said the government had broken its promise to fix social care.
It will be interesting to see the level of investment dedicated to the sector in the Chancellor’s upcoming Autumn Statement (due to be announced on 22 November) to see how it shapes up against last year’s (significant) investment.
2. Social Worker of the Year Award Announced
At the end of last week, the annual Social Worker of the Year Awards were held, with almost 20 different awards overall. Recognising the brilliant efforts of social care practitioners the nation over, the Overall Social Worker of the Year award went to Omaid Badar.
Omaid, a children’s social care practitioner working for Kirklees Council, originally came to England as a refugee from Afghanistan. The judges’ decision was unanimous, and the whole room was incredibly pleased for Omaid – even those who didn’t win!
3. Proposed Overhaul for Adult Social Care Cut by More than Half
A report just published by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that funding for a proposed overhaul of the country’s social care system has been slashed by 58%. That money has been channelled towards other care areas.
Opposition parties have criticised the move, with Labour stating: “[the report] makes clear that the Conservatives will break their promise to fix the crisis in social care” whilst the Conservatives have maintained their stance that they’re committed to social care reform.
4. Autumn Cost of Living Payment
People who receive tax credits are receiving their £300 Cost of Living Payment from 10 November onwards. Everybody should have received their payment by 19 November. This is the second of three lump-sum payments of £300, with the last to be paid out in spring next year.
The payments will help over 800,000 families financially in a precarious time for so many. For more eligibility information, click here to view the government website’s piece on the subject.
5. Predicted Number of People Living with Dementia Increasing By 2040
It’s estimated that over one and a half million people (1.7 million, to be precise) living in England and Wales might be living with dementia by the year 2040. The incidence rate for dementia rose by 25% between 2008 and 2016, and if that rate of increase continues, then that predicted figure might, sadly, become a reality.
The main drivers behind the increase in dementia rates are ageing populations, with people living longer and therefore being more vulnerable to dementia and associated diseases. There is also a potential link between poor heart health and the occurrence of dementia, too.
Final Thoughts
There’s your very first social care edition of The Friday Five – we hope you found it helpful and informative to have all the top stories in one place. We’ll be back next week for another round up, so hopefully we’ll see you then!
