Throughout June 2024, the Community Care Law team at Martin Searle Solicitors are running their campaign Social Care Funding Matters, to raise awareness about the current problems with social care funding.
BRIGHTON, United Kingdom, May 31, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The costs of paying for care frequently make front-page news as this involves people having to use up their savings and/or sell their home to pay their care fees. There has also been much publicity about hospital bed blocking and the social care crisis. The sad fact is that fourteen years from the first proposal to cap social care costs, the law still hasn't changed.
Despite the Care Act being 10 years old and having imposed very clear legal duties on Social Services, clients often require legal representation to ensure that their rights to basic social care provision are upheld.
Martin Searle Solicitors is a campaigning law firm and are committed to access to justice. So throughout June 2024, the Community Care Law team at Martin Searle Solicitors are running their campaign Social Care Funding Matters, to raise awareness about the current problems with social care funding.
Their Community Care Law Team will provide practical advice and assistance to individuals keen to find out more about what how to access social care funding and the services they are entitled to under the Care Act. Their advice is also relevant to professionals such as accountants, financial advisors, private client lawyers and professional deputies who also have to offer advice about paying for care.
On Thursday 27 June 2024, from 12noon – 1pm, Martin Searle Solicitors will be running a free virtual seminar on 'Paying For Care – Topics and Tensions'. The webinar is aimed at Professional Deputies, private client lawyers, and other advisers who work in the social care sector. To book, click here
Social care provision remains very challenging. A July 2023 Age UK study found that 1.6 million adults aged 65+ in England are living with some level of unmet need for care and support, and that over 13,000 adults are 'stranded' in hospital every day, up from 4,500 in 2019.
A BBC survey from September 2023 found that local authorities will have to cut at least £467m from social care budgets in the 2024 financial year in order to balance the books. Carers UK estimated in January 2024 that there are approximately 5 million unpaid carers in England and Wales, whilst Age UK found that 20% of unpaid carers are aged 60+.
The most recent review of Adult Social Care Complaints from the Local Government Ombudsman found that 79% of complaints from the public about social care charges were upheld.
The Community Care Law team have found that much of the information published by the media is incomplete, misleading, or does not represent the true nature of the care funding system. This means that a large number of people do not access the financial support from health or social services that they are legally entitled to.
Cate Searle, Director and Head of Community Care Law, says "The social care system remains hugely under-resourced after 14 years of austerity measures. Many people who should qualify for social care support find that they are turned away, or kept on a waiting list for months, or experience cuts to their existing packages. The Local Government Association recently reported that one third of councils do not believe they will be able to meet their statutory social care duties in 2025-2026."
"After July's election the incoming government needs to make a significant investment in social care staff, services and support for unpaid carers to ensure that the current social care system does not collapse. This should be as much a priority as saving the NHS as care provision and funding affects us, our parents and our children."
The Martin Searle Solicitors Community Care Law team are offering a free initial 30 minute confidential advice call regarding planning and paying for care. Their legal helpline will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout June 2024 from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on 01273 609911. To book a call-back from one of their team, click here.
Martin Searle Solicitors have also produced a series of free factsheets, case studies and FAQs on their website, covering the law around care and care home funding, including how to avoid selling your home to pay for care, and the rules that affect what care funding you receive.
For more information about the campaign, please visit https://www.ms-solicitors.co.uk/social-care-funding-matters/
Media Contact
Chris Parkinson, Martin Searle Solicitors, 44 01273609911, [email protected], https://www.ms-solicitors.co.uk
SOURCE Martin Searle Solicitors
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