Six-month waits for care assessments almost double as Lib Dems call on government to exempt care from NI tax hike

EMBARGO: 22.30 Tuesday 12th November

The number of people waiting over six-months for a care needs assessment has almost doubled to 79,000, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

This revelation comes ahead of the Health Secretary giving a speech to NHS Providers today (13th November).

The Party is calling on the government to address the "elephant in the room" and focus on rescuing social care, as well as exempting the care sector from the government’s employers’ NICs hike.

Care needs assessments involve someone from the local council finding out how someone is managing everyday tasks by speaking to them. Based on this, the council will then recommend services such as equipment like a walking frame or personal alarm, practical help from a paid carer or moving into a care home. Someone needs to have this assessment before the council can recommend these services.

House of Commons Library research, based on data collected by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), has shown that the number of people waiting longer than six-months for an assessment has increased from 41,000 in 2021, when data was first available, to 79,000, a rise of 91%.

The research also reveals that the proportion of those waiting over six-months for one of these assessments has now reached over a third (34.6%). That is up close to 15% from 2021’s figure of 20.2%. The total number of people on the waiting list has also increased by 11%, from 204,000 to 227,000.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the government to "address the elephant in the room" by putting forward a “plan of urgent action on social care”.

The Party is also calling on the government to exempt the care sector from the NICs hike to spare it from further financial pressures when it is already at breaking point and for the government to engage in cross-party talks on social care.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“The entire social care sector is in crisis. Thousands of people are being forced to wait indefinitely for a decision on their care needs. Many wait months not knowing if they will get support with their care or not.

“The Conservative party should hang its head in shame. They neglected social care time and again, kicking the can down the road, and leaving vulnerable people to suffer the consequences.

“The new government must rise to the challenge and rescue social care. That is why it is so disappointing to see that instead of bringing forward a plan to get social care back on its feet, the government has produced proposals that look set to place even more financial pressures upon it with their misguided hike in employers’ national insurance. 

“The government must address the elephant in the room and set forward a plan of urgent action on social care including exempting care from the government’s national insurance tax rise.”

ENDS
 

Notes to Editors:

The research from the House of Commons Library based on data collected by the ADASS can be found here.