Councils ration residential places and fees as care funding slashed 8%

The charity found many local authorities were cutting the number of placements available in care homes or the rates paid to reduce costs. Age UK made freedom of information requests to each English council with responsibility for adult social services, to reveal their planned expenditure on older people's social care for the current financial year (2011/12). Responses were received from 139 out of a total 152 councils and the charity combined these with the estimated addition of the NHS contribution to local authorities. It's chief finding was that net expenditure on older people's...