THE government must deliver an “iron-clad commitment” to investment in social care, unions said yesterday, noting that the  sector has been long plagued by poor pay and staff shortages.

They were responding to King’s Fund’s publication of its annual Social Care 360 report, which warns of several worrying trends, as government reforms continue to be “dodged or delayed.”

It finds that financial eligibility for care has continued to tighten, with the threshold for help remaining unchanged since 2010-11 even though the cost of care has risen faster than inflation, putting greater pressure on local authorities.

The average fee for older people has increased from £670 a week in 2015 to £840 today.

The vacancy rate in social care is at its second-highest level on record while thousands of unpaid carers are left without support, the report said.

Lead author Simon Bottery said that reform had been “dodged or delayed” for decades and that there was “no sign that national government will step in to help.”

Royal College of Nursing director for England Patricia Marquis warned that the sector was “simply unable to meet the needs of an ageing population.”

She added: “As the number of domestic care staff has plummeted, international workers have stepped in, helping to prop up a system that has been undervalued and ignored by successive governments.

“Ministers have now chosen to exacerbate the workforce crisis by preventing overseas care workers from bringing family members to the UK.

“This is political point-scoring being prioritised over patient care.”

Ms Marquis said there should be fair and competitive pay, a strategy to boost recruitment, support for migrant staff and “an iron-clad commitment to deliver long-term investment in the sector.”

Unison head of social care Gavin Edwards said: “Care has gone into a tailspin on the government’s watch.

“Cash-strapped local authorities have been pushed ever closer to the edge by spiralling care costs.

“The blame for the crisis lies entirely with the government, which has failed to ensure council funding bears any relation to the harsh economic reality.

“The sector simply doesn’t have the staff to meet the growing demands being made.”