Abstract
This chapter covers home care services in England only. In 1999 responsibility for health and social care policies and services was transferred from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies. Other functions, including social protection and social security, remain the responsibility of the UK Parliament. This devolution of statutory responsibilities, together with the distinctive institutional structures within each UK countries that shape policy implementation, have resulted in differences between the constituent countries of the UK. Many of these are relatively small, but they are particularly apparent in relation to social care (Bell, 2010).
Reforms to home care services in England have been driven by three factors: the long-term, structural underfunding of social care services in general (of which home care services constitute an important element); demographic trends common to all advanced welfare states; and a consistent policy trajectory over the past 20 years from successive governments to support more people at home, for longer, in order to avoid (or at least delay) entry to residential care. This latter policy affects both older people, who are now living at home with levels of support needs that, two decades earlier, would have led to residential care admission; and younger people with very severe disabilities who now increasingly live at home rather than in hospital or residential settings. English home care services suffer from chronic structural under-funding. There is a substantial market for privately purchased care and heavy reliance on informal care. Eligibility thresholds for home care have risen
Reforms to home care services in England have been driven by three factors: the long-term, structural underfunding of social care services in general (of which home care services constitute an important element); demographic trends common to all advanced welfare states; and a consistent policy trajectory over the past 20 years from successive governments to support more people at home, for longer, in order to avoid (or at least delay) entry to residential care. This latter policy affects both older people, who are now living at home with levels of support needs that, two decades earlier, would have led to residential care admission; and younger people with very severe disabilities who now increasingly live at home rather than in hospital or residential settings. English home care services suffer from chronic structural under-funding. There is a substantial market for privately purchased care and heavy reliance on informal care. Eligibility thresholds for home care have risen
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Livindhome |
Place of Publication | Denmark |
Publisher | SFI – The Danish National Centre for Social Research |
Chapter | 3 |
Pages | 95 - 116 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2011 |
Keywords
- Home care
- Disabled people
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion keywords
- Disability Equality