The annual ADASS Spring Survey is sent to every Director of Adult Social Services in the 153 English councils with social care responsibilities. This year ADASS had a response rate of 89%. Key themes in the report include the financial pressures facing adult social care showing no signs of abating, increasing demand and complexity of need, and a significant increase in safeguarding concerns.
Responding to the survey findings, Dr Rhidian Hughes Chief Executive of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) says:
'The ADASS Spring Survey paints a deeply concerning picture for disabled people and the organisations that support them. Behind every statistic is a person waiting longer for essential support, facing increasing uncertainty, or struggling to access the care they need to live independently.
'We are particularly concerned by the growing number of people losing access to NHS Continuing Healthcare and being left to navigate an already overstretched social care system. For disabled people with the most complex needs, arguments over who pays for care should never come before receiving the right support. The report rightly highlights that people must be at the centre of decision-making, not funding disputes.
'The findings also expose the consequences of fragmented health and care funding. As Integrated Care Boards reduce investment in Continuing Healthcare, mental health services and joint funding arrangements, local authorities and voluntary sector organisations are increasingly expected to fill the gaps without the resources to do so. This is neither sustainable nor fair for the people who depend on these services.
'For voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) providers of support for disabled people, families and carers these pressures are felt every day. Our members are supporting more people with increasingly complex needs, helping young people and families through transitions into adulthood, and responding to rising mental health needs while funding remains under intense pressure.
'The Government's ambition to support more people to live independently in their communities can only succeed if social care, the NHS and the VCFSE sector are funded and planned together.
'Investment in prevention, community support and voluntary organisations is not an optional extra, it is essential to improving outcomes for disabled people and creating a sustainable health and care system.'