Focus On: Social care for older people - Reductions in adult social services for older people in England

This QualityWatch report by Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation reveals that between 2009/10 and 2012/13 spending on social care for older people fell by 15 per cent in real terms from £10.6 billion to £9.8 billion. Key finding include:

• Almost a quarter of a million fewer older people received publicly funded community services in financial years 2012/13 compared to 2009/10 (a 26 per cent drop)
• Home and day care spending by councils fell by 23 per cent (or £538 million) over the same period, and
• The number of older people receiving home-delivered meals has more than halved since 2009/10

It also highlights that transfers of money from the NHS to adult social care have more than doubled since 2009/10 and that, without these, service cuts in social care could have been even more drastic.