Social care

Social care enables disabled people to get up and out, work, learn and see the people we love.

Join us in asking politicians to ‘Show Us You Care’.

Our challenge to the next government?

We’ve teamed up with the Care and Support Alliance to launch an exciting new campaign.

We’re proud to join 54 leading organisations and 24,009 people in signing an open letter to party leaders asking them to 'Show Us You Care'.

Watch this space for more action soon.

The government must fund social care

Without further central government funding, local authorities will be forced to deliver real terms cuts. Disabled and older people will be without the care they need. And providers will be set up to fail.

We're calling on the new government to commit to a long-term plan for social care. We need an end to the pattern of piecemeal funding dubbed ‘crisis, cash, repeat'.

Read our briefing on local authority social care funding

A female wheelchair user with her guide dog and carer in a supermarket

Chloe shares a cup of coffee with her mum

Chloe's story

I have a progressive condition which means that I will become less independent over time. In terms of my social care, I get the bare minimum of what is available to support me with everyday life.

I use a local care agency alongside support from my mum, who I live with. She gets me up and puts me to bed each night and turns me in the night. Social care supports me with showering, dressing, and personal care.

Because mum is here, I'm seen as coping and not needing any additional support. Mum is getting older, and I don't want to always have to rely on her. Care is expensive, and I've been given no help to plan for the future and there will come a point when my mum can't help me.

Social care is underfunded, and budgets have been slashed. There is a greater burden than ever before for people to fund their own care. I shouldn't have to pay for the basic needs that everyone else has. Essentially, I have to pay to go to the toilet!

Accessing social care and understanding what is available is challenging. We have to fight for it. I have never been asked what I want. There should be a choice. The whole system needs an overhaul, it’s not working as it stands.

A female wheelchair user and her carer looking at a laptop screen

Hannah

"Unfortunately, it took years and years for me to access the care that I need. Social care needs to be more accessible because many people don’t have access to adequate support. Social care should be readily available for everyone."

Simon

“People need to listen and not make assumptions about the care I might need or want. Accessing and setting up social care is hard and demeaning and can put people off. Good social care makes all the difference between being able to actually live a life and have a decent standard of life.”

A selfie of a young woman in her bedroom

Sophia

"I have had to fight for my needs to be met and still have a long way to go. I need social care to enable me to live life on my own terms and become independent. So far, my needs have been ignored."

Economic arguments are not the reason to reform social care, but they should no longer be the barrier.

1 in 3 care users are aged 18-64. The voices of disabled people, including those of working age, must be heard when the government reforms care.

In 2021 we released a report which demonstrates that investing in social care has the potential to pay for itself. We commissioned Frontier Economics (pro bono) to model the economic benefits of investing in social care.

Investing in social care across the country could generate an additional £6-£20 billion in annual income for the UK economy. This could mean support for disabled people to:

Increase their income by entering work.
Progress existing careers or increase their working hours.
Be empowered to live their lives as they choose.