Daycare funding reduced by £500million; affects 20,000 pensioners

Daycare budget cut puts older people at risk of being left lonely and isolated for the remaining years of their lives.

10:30 30 December 2012

According to Age UK, an organization that provides advice and information to elderly about benefits and care among others, there are about 20,000 pensioners who are severely affected by daycare funding cuts.

 

The figures show that the number of older people who are receiving care arranged by their local authority, is seriously getting smaller since 2009. In 2009-2010, there were 88,498 older people in England who are receiving council day care services. This number has decreased to 68,160 in 2011-12.

 

Michelle Mitchell, Age UK’s charity director general, said: ‘This reduction in the number of older people who can depend on day care services arranged by the local authority is extremely worrying for a range of reasons.

 

‘We know that these services are really important to many older people but the brutal reality for older people with high care needs is that all too often there is not enough funding to allow for anything more than meeting the basics of their personal care.’

 

Age UK also added that between 2010 and 2012, councils has cut daycare funding by £500million in real terms.