Luton bottom in the East of England for social care satisfaction
Social care users in Luton are the least happy in the East of England with the quality of care they receive, new figures show.
A national survey of social care users found 58.1 per cent of 325 respondents in Luton said they were satisfied with the care they received.
This means Luton ranked last in the East of England, lower than the average score across the region of 65 per cent.
Across England, 65.4 per cent of recipients of care said they were satisfied with the service they get.
However, this ranged from 88.3 per cent in Warwickshire, to 52.3 per cent in Trafford, suggesting significant regional variation.
ADASS, a membership organisation that represents those working in adult social care, said this variation "needs to change", but warned things are "likely to get worse".
Melanie Williams, president of ADASS said: "It’s positive to hear social care is working well for many people that can access it, but this report confirms variation exists in care and support according to where people live and that needs to change.
The data, from the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework, also asked service users a series of questions about their quality of life, inviting them to give a score out of 24.
In Luton, care services received an average score of 18.5, ranking it joint in the East of England.
As well as those who receive care, the survey was also open to carers themselves.
Of the 230 carers who took part in Luton, 24 per cent said they were satisfied with social services.
In the East of England, 35.4 per cent of carers were also satisfied, less than the 36.7 per cent across England.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said tackling the changes facing adult social care was vital to the Government's plans for growth.
"That is why we are taking the first steps towards building a National Care Service by introducing legislation that will establish the first ever fair pay agreement for care professionals and increasing the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold by over £2,300 - the biggest rise since the 1970s.
"Alongside this, we are giving local authorities an additional £3.5 billion in 2025-26, including a £680 million increase in the social care grant to support the sector."