Care Act failing as councils cut spending

A charity has claimed that the Care Act has failed, after revealing that council spending on support staff for disabled people and carers fell in the first year after implementation.

The research from Revitalise, a national disabled persons’ charity, found that in the year since the legislation came into effect in April 2015, over half (55%) of England’s local authorities had spent less overall on services for people with disabilities and carers.

Funding was down by an estimated £397m, according to freedom of information requests by the charity, and local authorities gave fewer needs assessments for disabled people during the first year of the Care Act than in the year before it. It was also found that 48% had carried out an average of 22% fewer carer assessments during the same period.

The charity urged local authorities to approach all disabled people and carers in their area to offer carer or needs assessments, and also called for more funding from central government to enable local authorities to meet the duties in the legislation.

• Revitalise