The care and support older people receive increasingly depends on their location and savings, according to a new report by The King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust.

The study from the health think tanks say that prolonged local authority budgets, increasing demand for services and staff shortages are the reason older people’s needs are not being met.

The report finds that these pressures are an ‘unacceptable burden’ on unpaid carers and is leaving rising numbers of older people who have difficulty with the basic activities of daily living without any support.

Local authority fee reductions and the introduction of the National Living Wage have badly affected residential and home care providers, the report found, and could be the reason why many providers leave the market in the future.

The report also noted that local authority budget cuts have seen providers in wealthy areas refusing to care for people funded by local authorities.

More people now have to pay for their own care as a result of these cuts.

Richard Humphries, Assistant Director of Policy at The King’s Fund said: ‘‘The failure of successive governments to reform social care has resulted in a failing system that leaves older people, their families and carers to pick up the pieces. Putting this right will be a key test of the Prime Minister’s promise of a more equal country that works for everyone – there is no more burning injustice in Britain today than older people being denied the care they need to live with independence and dignity.”

The report highlights a growing funding gap within the existing system and estimates it will reach at least £2.8 billion by 2019/20, with public spending on adult social care shrinking to less than 1% of GDP.

The study urges the government to be honest about the underfunded system and explain to the public what they can expect from local authority services to allow them to plan ahead.

Nuffield Trust and King’s Fund are calling for a fresh debate about how to pay for social care in the future.

The report launch coincides with the publication of new research commissioned by the Richmond Group of Charities and supported by the British Red Cross and the Royal Voluntary Service which documents the experiences of older people with the social care system and the challenges they face.

Ruth Thorlby, Deputy Director of Policy at the Nuffield Trust said: “No one can predict whether they will have care needs later in life. But if they do find they need help with the basics - eating, washing, going to the toilet – most will discover that unlike a health problem where care is free, they somehow have to manage themselves.

“Our research found that local authorities have done their best to make savings while protecting funding for the poorest, but care providers are struggling on the low fees councils can afford. Shortages of home care staff and affordable care home places mean older people are often stuck in hospital, putting both their lives and vital NHS processes on hold.

“The number of older people needing care is increasing and yet we are continuing to put less money in. Unmet need is rising, providers are threatening to pull out of contracts, the wellbeing of carers is deteriorating, access to care is getting worse. A Government that wants to create ‘a country which works for everyone’ should not tolerate the oldest and most vulnerable falling into a social care system riddled with holes.”