As Britain’s population grows older and sicker, the demand for adult social care is spiralling out of control. Nowhere is this more evident than on the Isle of Wight, where the local authority spends more per head – around £630 in 2022/23 – on adult social care than any other English council, according to analysis by Grant Thornton.
The island off the south coast of England is the nation’s care bill capital, with 29.2% of its 140,000 residents aged over 65. This figure dwarfs the UK average of just 19%, but it is a glimpse into the country’s future. By 2072, the Office for National Statistics expects the number to hit 27% nationwide.
Tony Knight, a 78-year-old retiree living on the Isle of Wight, has experienced the financial burden of adult social care firsthand. His wife, Kath, was diagnosed with vascular dementia in May 2019, and has been living in a specialised care home since February 2021.
The cost is a staggering £6,000 per month, or £72,000 per year. The Knights are not alone in their struggle. Britain’s adult social care system is overwhelmed, with a record high of 2 million requests in 2022/23, an 11% increase compared to 2015/16.
Despite this surge in demand, the number of people receiving funded support fell by 2% over the same period. The root of the problem lies in the fact that Britain’s health and social care system was not designed for the needs of today’s population.
Dementia, a condition that affects around a million people in the UK, was virtually non-existent when the NHS was established. Mental health problems have also surged, and the system is grappling with the ripple effects of NHS backlogs.
The Conservative government had planned to introduce a new £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs for anyone in England, based on recommendations made by Sir Andrew Dilnot in 2011. However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently scrapped the long-delayed reforms, citing affordability concerns and leaving the future of adult social care funding in a policy vacuum.
Experts argue that the system needs an injection of at least £3 billion a year just to run properly, even before considering specific reforms. As Britain’s housing crisis means that future generations of retirees may not own homes they can sell to fund their care, the responsibility will increasingly fall on local authorities.
The Isle of Wight serves as a microcosm of the challenges facing Britain’s adult social care system. As the population ages and the costs of delivering care soar, policymakers must confront the difficult question of who should foot the bill for this growing crisis.
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