Over two million adults in England require social care services, with demand for services and costs expected to rise.
Additionally, there are wide variations in the availability and quality of care offered by local authorities, with large numbers of people expected to make provision for themselves.
Work by the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) aims to improve social care services for those who need them as well as for carers and those who provide the services.
For example, PSSRU researchers have contributed to the development of new formulae for government to more fairly allocate funding for adult social care to local authorities and finance universal deferred payments, which help those without immediate access to care home funding.
LSE researchers also helped identify key shortfalls in criteria determining individuals’ eligibility for social care services by local authorities and helped shape the ensuing implementation of more transparent national minimum eligibility criteria.
This new criteria sets a minimum threshold for people’s care needs which must be met by all local authorities, meaning there is now more consistency in care provision across England.
