The issue is often framed around ageing. But disabled people of all ages urgently need answers to the social care question
There cannot be many adults in the UK who are unaware of the importance of social care. Whether they have encountered the issue through personal experience of supporting friends or relatives, or on the news, most will also recognise that meeting the needs of the growing number of people who cannot take care of themselves is a serious challenge. What fewer may notice is that the most common framing of the care issue, as primarily linked to ageing, longer life expectancy and rising numbers of people with dementia, is partly misleading.
In 2018-19, almost 300,000 people aged between 18 and 64 received council-funded social care in England (arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are somewhat different). Most of this care went to people in their homes, and around 70% of those who qualified did so due to learning difficulties. This group made up around a third of the total and accounted for around half of public spending on social care. The social care crisis, as it is often called, is thus as much about disability as ageing.
