Press Release – 11/5/21

Release time – immediate

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“Let Down Again”

 

Following today’s Queen’s Speech, the Government have yet again put the reform of adult social care into the “too difficult” pile. Covid19 has highlighted the longstanding challenges faced by older people in the social care system, and we are likely to see their lives get worse at a time when demand for care will rise.

 

Even before the pandemic many older people were not getting the support they need to maintain their independence, social connections and quality of life but the challenges facing people ageing without children are particularly acute

 

• There are 1.5 million people over 65 in the UK without adult children[1]

• Older People without adult children are 25% more likely to have to move to a care home [2]

• The number of older people with disabilities who live alone and have no child is projected to increase rapidly, rising by nearly 80 per cent between 2007 and 2032 [3]

 

In the absence of a proper plan, AWOC would like the Government to commit to including people ageing without children in their thinking by

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1. taking the demographic changes of the UK into account and recognising that for many people family support is not an option

2. investing in advocacy services to ensure older people without family have people to speak up for them

3. highlighting the importance for all adults to plan for later life

 

Paul Goulden, Chair of AWOC said

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“We’ve been promised plans to tackle adult social care for years, and each promise has been followed by an excuse or a delay – and older people have been let down again. Tackling adult social care is important for anyone who is over 50, but vital those who are ageing without children. In the absence of any plan or a White Paper, we at least want to see some concrete steps towards tackling the issues that blight the lives of so many older people and those ageing without children.”

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ENDS

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Notes

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Ageing Without Children (AWOC) has applied to the Charity Commission for registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation

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References

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[1] IPPR The Generation Strain 2014

 

[2] Childlessness at the end of life: evidence from rural Wales WENGER G. Clare Ageing and Society, 29(8), November 2009, pp.1243-1259.Cambridge University Press

[3] Pickard, Linda et al Mapping the future of family care: receipt of informal care by older people with disabilities in England to 2032. Social Policy and Society, 11 (4). pp. 533-545. ISSN 1475-74