Care cuts failing older people in England, says human rights group
And a disproportionate number of older people in rural areas is one fact based justification for looking in detail at the current spending formula in the context of this article. This story puts some more flesh on those bones telling us:
Vulnerable older people in England are at risk of being denied their human rights because of failures in the way the government allocates care resources since budget cuts, Human Rights Watch has said.
After a 13-month inquiry, the global campaign group has concluded that people are facing physical, financial and psychological hardship and are at risk of being denied adequate help to live independent, dignified lives.
It accuses the government of a lack of oversight of a system which is largely devolved to town halls and voices concern about a 140% increase in adult social care complaints since 2010 following a cut of almost 50% in central government funding for councils.
HRW is better known for investigating human rights abuses in places such as North Korea, Russia and Sri Lanka and it is the first time it has tackled the UK welfare system. It follows last year’s United Nations investigation into extreme poverty in the UK, which accused the government of inflicting “great misery” on its people with “punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous” austerity policies.
HRW said: “Older people in England are at risk of not getting adequate assistance to live independent, dignified lives due to unseen assessments for social services. The government risks failing to secure older persons’ rights to health, and to live in the community.”