“While the overall standards of care have improved from last year‚ it’s not acceptable that ratings for care homes for older people are lagging behind homes for younger age groups. The report clearly shows that many service providers are still not up to scratch on basic standards of care that are vital for the wellbeing and welfare of older people.

“Many older people often cannot access the care and support they need at home because of creeping eligibility restrictions and a postcode lottery of service provision. By restricting home care to those who only meet the highest criteria¹‚ local councils continue to deny many older people the care they need to live dignified and independent lives. 

“The Government must ensure that the CQC is adequately resourced to carry out inspections more frequently to drive up standards and ensure that older people and their families have the most up-to-date information to make informed decisions about their care.

“We welcome recent proposals from the parties to improve the social care system. However‚ with the long term reforms proposed by the government not due to come into force until at least 2014‚ we are calling for an additional £370 million a year in additional funding in the Pre-Budget Report to ensure that care services do not deteriorate further.”