Social care placing 'unbearable burden' on Shropshire families
A Labour group insists Shropshire families are facing an "unbearable burden" and huge bills for adult social care.
The Shrewsbury and Atcham Labour Group says it wants to see a more "effectively funded and organised" system, with Shropshire Council at the forefront of its delivery.
The group says the current government’s recently announced package of reforms will eventually provide some funds over a three-year period from April 2022, but little in the ways of actual delivery mechanisms, and until an effective strategy is delivered the Adult Social Care will remain in crisis.
Labour councillor Kate Halliday, who represents Belle Vue, said: “The failure of the government to provide the care older people need is placing an almost unbearable burden on many local families.
"Following the National Census of 2011, the number of unpaid carers in Shropshire was estimated to be 34,000 but that figure may well have doubled over the intervening 10 years. There are an estimated 10,500 employed in the sector.”
Shrewsbury Labour spokesperson Ian Barber, added: “Older people who need social care are often faced with huge bills.
"Some local residential care homes are charging over £1,000 a week.
"The government has said it will introduce a lifetime cap on ‘personal care’ costs of £86,000 in 2023, but even then, accommodation and food spending will be excluded and it is expected that only care authorised following a local authority assessment will be counted.
"It is grossly unfair that those living with dementia or other long-term conditions should face catastrophically high costs which eat up their life savings or force them to sell their homes.”
