THE POLITICS OF CARE

During the 1980s, there was an explosion in the number of care homes and residents in the UK, fuelled by an ageing population, increasing care demands and a decline in the availability of informal carers.

With funding provided through the Department of Health and Social Security, the cost to the Government of care provision had begun to spiral and the authorities were aware that this was an unsustainable position.

The response was the National Health and Community Care Act 1990 which was introduced in 1993 and transferred funding responsibility to local authority Social Services and effectively placed a budget constraint on care fee funding.

The result of these changes is a system which effectively rations care funding and has reduced the number of care beds available.

Despite a Royal Commission into the issues and the introduction of additional funding support through the Government’s nursing care contribution, care provision in England remains subject to a means testing procedure which many feel penalises those who have been prudent during their working life and betrays the country’s promise of cradle to grave care.

	The Organisations Involved
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