Next Prime Minister must overhaul social care as level of unmet need is staggering, charities say

New Prime Minister must "turn the page" on social care to transform it amid an "astonishing" level of unmet need, charities have warned.

The Care and Support Alliance (CSA), which represents more than 60 charities, is calling the next leader of the Conservative Party to act quickly, with research suggesting that one in eight older people are going without the social care they need.

But front-runner Liz Truss has repeatedly promised to reverse the National Insurance hike that has been introduced as part of the government's plans to fund the NHS and social services.

Age UK analysis found that around 12% of people People over the age of 50 in England do not get the help they need with activities such as bathing, dressing, a.o. lying down and lying down or getting up.

Extrapolating this to the English population, this suggests that around 2.6 million older people have unmet social care needs.

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Of those with unmet needs, 70% find it difficult to dress, 47% find it difficult to bathe and 36% have trouble getting in and out of bed.

A fifth of people with an unmet need for care are alone.

The latest research suggests that the number of adults on welfare in England has nearly doubled in a year, to over 500,000.

Around 600 people join growing waiting lists every day to be assessed for social care and support in England.

< p>The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services says expectations are having a devastating impact on people's lives.

The new government must "take a smarter approach to social care" and provide money to deal with pressures on the healthcare system, according to alliance members, who say successive leaders have neglected the sector through years of underfunding.

They argue that the reforms 'won't and can't' deliver on Boris Johnson's promise to 'fix' social care because they will focus on subsidizing the amount people pay, instead of improving the quality or availability of care.

Last month, MPs also c...