One in seven councils raises eligibility bar for adult care

One in seven councils has increased its threshold for adult social care this year, leaving many older and disabled people facing reduced support, the Local Government Association revealed today.

Its budget survey of councils found that 14% had changed their eligibility criteria for care for 2011-12. Most had raised their thresholds from moderate to substantial, potentially excluding from support people who are unable to carry out several personal care tasks or family roles.

Of the 57 authorities with adults’ services responsibilities polled, 7% did not know whether a decision had been taken on eligibility thresholds.

The news follows research last year which showed that 80% of councils were due to be restricting care to people with critcial or substantial needs from this month.

However, the LGA also found that most councils were protecting adult social care and children’s services above all other services, as they sought to manage average estimated cuts of 4.7% in their budgets this year.

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