Charities call for more social care spending
Domiciliary care insurance
8th April 2009
Up to an additional £2 billion needs to be spent on social care for older people as part of any fiscal stimulus package, it has been claimed.
According to a report by Age Concern and Help the Aged, 19 per cent of old aged pensioners (OAPs) currently live below the poverty line, while 11 per cent of people aged 65 and above often or always feel lonely.
Michelle Mitchell, charity director for both organisations, said that increased public investment must also be coupled with changes by businesses, individuals and wider society.
"Loneliness, depression, poverty and neglect blight the lives of millions of older people and for many, evidence shows the situation is getting worse, not better," she commented.
The One Voice report follows the progress of a number of issues over time and found that 13 indicators had worsened, while a further 13 had remained constant and four had improved.
In February, Help the Aged criticised water bill increases announced by Ofwat as detrimental to the finances of OAPs.
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