Our response to the Government's announcement on social care funding

We are extremely concerned that the Department of Health and Social Care has halved its £500m investment into social care, which it committed to provide in 2021, to just £250m. This is yet another blow to those who rely on social care services, following the announcement of a two-year delay of social care funding reforms in the Autumn Budget last year.

A significant portion of the original £500m funding was to be spent on developing the skills of the social care workforce. Lack of access to skilled and experienced social care staff risks depriving people living with complex needs, such as those caused by MND, of the care and support they need. It also puts enormous pressure on unpaid carers of people living with MND, of which just 13% are offered respite care. A large driver for this poor access is a lack of social care staff with the necessary skills to meet the needs of people living with MND.

In its 2021 Social Care White Paper the Government also pledged £25m to support unpaid carers, and we are pleased this has been recommitted to. Unpaid carers not only provide vital support to people living with MND, but they also save health and social care vast amounts of money by providing care that would have otherwise been met by social care. Almost half (43%) of carers of people with MND provide over 100 hours of care a week.

We know that two-thirds (66%) of MND carers report they have ‘no’ or ‘not enough’ support. We call on the Government to urgently recommit to providing the pledged funding in full, to ensure that people living with MND can access the essential support they rely on, and their carers receive the support they need in their caring role. We will continue to campaign for the investment needed for everyone living with MND to have access to the skilled social care that they need.