Age UK's YouGov poll on social care

Over three-quarters of English adults say Government not doing enough for older people

As the debate over the future of social care in England intensifies, a YouGov poll has shown that more than four out of five (81%) of English adults believe that the Government is not doing enough to meet the care and support needs of vulnerable older people.

And over three-quarters (78%) said that the Government could do more generally for older people. Over half (58%) disagreed that as a country England looks after its older people properly.

The YouGov poll carried out on behalf of Age UK questioned 1,726 English adults.

The social care system which helps provide support to older and disabled people with essential day to day tasks such as getting out of bed, washing and providing meals is on the verge of collapse. Too many people who need help from the system either receive no help at all or inadequate provision. Age UK has launched a campaign call on the Government to implement urgent reform of the system to ensure a fair and sustainable future.

At the moment those with more than £23,250 in savings have to pay all the costs of the social care they need. If an older person can no longer live at home and needs residential care then the value of their house is taken into consideration and many are forced to sell their home to pay for care. Age UK supports the recommendation of the Dilnot Commission which included a proposed lifetime cap on the amount of money that an individual would have to pay towards their care. This, Age UK believes, would help older people plan ahead. It may also encourage more provision of financial services products to help people prepare financially for any care needs. Currently there are no viable options for those who want to protect their homes.

According to the poll imposing a cap on spending has strong support amongst the English population with just over three quarters (76%) backing the idea.

Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age UK, said: 'This is a strong message to the Government that the public believes it should be doing more to help older people with their social care needs.

'We want this Government to be the one that shows the vision and drive to sort out the care system once and for all, providing this generation and future generations of older people with the support they need in later life.

'Our polling shows that this is not a minority issue but one that the vast majority of people care about across the generations. We urge all those who care about the future of social care to sign the Care in Crisis petition on the Age UK website.'

Age UK is asking all those who care about the future of the social care system to sign up to the charity's petition to get their voices heard. The charity aims to collect 100,000 signatures by 1st March 2012 and will deliver them to the Government ahead of the planned White Paper on the future of long term care.

To sign up to Age UK's Care in Crisis petition calling for urgent care reform, please either visit www.ageuk.org.uk/careincrisis, or go to your local Age UK office.

Ahead of the planned launch of the Government's White Paper on the future of long term care, Age UK will present the Care in Crisis petition to the Government. A mass lobby of Parliament will also be held on 6 March at Westminster, London to demonstrate public support for care reform.

-ENDS- 

Media contact:
Anne-Marie Doohan, Senior Media Officer
T: 020 303 31444

Notes to editors

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1726 English adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9-11 January 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of English adults (aged 18+) from a standard UK sample of 2079 UK Adults (aged 18+).

Age UK

For media enquiries relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland please contact the appropriate national office: Age Scotland on 0131 668 8055, Age Cymru on 029 2043 1562 and Age NI on 028 9024 5729.

About Age UK: Age UK is the new force combining Age Concern and Help the Aged, dedicated to improving later life. We provide free information, advice and support to over five million people; commercial products and services to over one million customers; and research and campaign on the issues that matter to people in later life.

Our work focuses on five key areas: money matters, health and well being, home and care, work and training and leisure and lifestyle. We work with our national partners, Age Scotland, Age Cymru and Age NI (together the Age UK Family), our local Age UK partners in England and local Age Concerns. We also work internationally for people in later life as a member of the DEC and with our sister charity Help Age International.

Age UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (registered charity number 1128267 and company number 6825798).

Age Concern England and Help the Aged (both registered charities), and their trading and other associated companies merged on the 1st April 2009. Together they have formed the Age UK Group ("we"). Charitable services are offered through Age UK and commercial products are offered by the Charity's trading companies, which donate their net profits to Age UK (the Charity).