London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

Nearly 300,000 on adult social care ‘waiting lists’ in England

Nearly 300,000 on adult social care ‘waiting lists’ in England

Delays starkly demonstrate funding and staffing pressures in sector, say local authority care chiefs
Nearly 300,000 people are on local authority “waiting lists” for adult social care services in England because of funding pressures and delays in assessments from social workers, according to council care chiefs.

They also revealed that a chronic shortage of care workers meant more than one in 10 people assessed as needing care in their own homes were instead being offered care in residential facilities, often against their wishes.

The emergence of adult social care waiting lists – which have grown by more than a quarter in the past three months – starkly demonstrated the funding and staffing pressures faced by care services, said the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass).

The figures came as it was revealed some care workers would lose £1,000 a year after the government’s decision to introduce and new healthcare levy and remove the £20 universal credit uplift.

The government has announced a health and care funding plan to raise £12bn a year between 2022-23 and 2024-25, although adult social care is due to receive just £1.8bn of this. The funding boost will be met by an increase in national insurance payments from next April.

Adass says the longer people wait for an assessment the higher the risk that their condition will deteriorate, they will become mentally or physically unwell, they will suffer a fall, or continue to suffer unreported or concealed abuse or neglect.

Although councils have increased the numbers of care hours delivered over the past three months, they have been unable to keep pace with demand because of staff shortages and more people needing care after being discharged from hospital.

Stephen Chandler, the Adass president, said: “This survey is a stark reminder of why we need investment in care and support now. It is neither fair nor acceptable that people are waiting longer and getting less care. People need care and support to live a good life now. They cannot and should not be made to wait.”

A separate analysis by the consultants Policy in Practice found care workers earning the “national living wage” will be more than £1,000 a year out of pocket as a result of the national insurance changes coming in next year to fund the government’s health and care plans, coupled with imminent cuts to universal credit and food and energy price rises.

It calculated care workers earning £9.24 an hour would pay £121 a year to the health and social care levy to fund the care they provide to others. The universal credit changes, due in October, when the £20 a week Covid top-up will be removed, will leave them out of pocket by £1,035 a year, despite increases in the national living wage.

Deven Ghelani, the director of Policy in Practice, said they would be in effect paying for doing their job of caring for others: “That’s the basic unfairness of paying for social insurance through a rise in national insurance while simultaneously taking away support from the lowest earners: those that kept us going through the pandemic are the ones hardest hit.”

The council social care waiting lists indicate the numbers of people who are waiting for an initial care assessment – no care can be given before a formal assessment is made; who are receiving care but are waiting for an annual needs review; and who have been assessed but are waiting for care services to start.

The Adass snap survey carried out in mid-August found people were waiting longer for assessments, were receiving less care and in some cases receiving the wrong type of care and support. About 70,000 people were waiting for an initial assessment, up from 55,000 in May, with 11,000 people waiting more than six months, up from 7,000).

Just over 184,000 people were waiting for reviews of existing care and support plans, up by 15.6% (24,971) compared with May. Under the Care Act councils are legally obliged to review care plans no later than every 12 months. About 19,000 people had been assessed but were waiting for their care package to start.

Adult social care departments have incurred a “deluge” in pent-up demand for care and support after Covid restrictions were eased, but this has been exacerbated by years of austerity cuts, leaving councils unable to tackle staff shortages and having to increasingly ration care.

The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
×