Social Care in England 'has bleak future on £800m cuts'

Social care in England is facing a bleak future despite planned changes as services have been forced into budget cuts, council chiefs say.

Research by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services showed £800m was likely to be taken from the £16bn budget this year.

The group warned it meant "the bleak outlook becomes even bleaker".

It comes as the government looks set to signal later in the Queen's Speech its determination to reform the system.

The draft social care and support bill, which is expected to be included in the speech, will be used to clarify the law on social care and pave the way for the introduction of a cap on the costs people face for elderly care.

Currently anyone with assets of more than £23,250 faces unlimited costs, but ministers have said they want to see lifetime costs capped at £72,000 from 2016.

The result of the move would be that many more people would be brought into the state system. Estimates have suggested an extra 450,000.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the changes to the social care system needed to be made quickly, as the UK faced a "very big challenge" because of its ageing society.

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