Social care on the air

January was designated Social Care month by BBC Radio 4. Two of the network’s live daily shows, You and Yours and Woman’s Hour, used large chunks of their air time to give the social care system a thorough going over. You and Yours presenter and disability affairs correspondent Peter White told Disability Now that the impetus for the season had come from a nationwide series of meetings under the auspices of the health and welfare think-tank The King’s Fund.

“We realised that this is as big as pensions, but it’s not getting the same coverage. People are beginning to realise that there are a lot of injustices in the system because it’s based on means testing, not on need, which means that people aren’t getting care on the basis of what they need, but on the basis of what the local authority can afford.”

He describes the social care system as being so unfit for purpose that it’s “like going round Brands Hatch on a bicycle”.

The season’s been generally welcomed but has raised concerns among some disabled activists. They worry that it will inevitably focus heavily on the system and how it’s failing, but not give attention to the ever-growing demands for independent living as a reality. But White says we are at the heart of the agenda.

“Disabled people are the most vulnerable to the postcode lottery, which can mean that only those with the most severe level of disability actually qualify.”

In common with many disabled users of the system and those who support them, White is sceptical about the tangibility of recent government pronouncements and announcements. “Things like individual budgets and personally directed care are just buzz words because the system is limited by the cash that’s being fed into it. It’s no good having personally directed care based on a means-tested process because the chances are you’re not going to qualify anyway.”

He also shares concern over the likely future of existing benefits such as disability living allowance and attendance allowance, which may end up being subsumed into overall care provision. But central to his approach to the season is a conviction that
disabled people have to remain in control.

“We understand our disability best. If you tell people, this is the money available, [and ask them] where could it best be spent, they’ll choose right.”