The government should complete its adult social care funding review “within the year” amid warnings the sector in South Devon “will have simply stopped functioning” by the time a report is ready in 2028, according to South Devon MP, Caroline Voaden.

The Liberal Democrat MP said social care was “in crisis”, pointing out figures by Age UK which estimate that 2.6 million people across the country aged over the age of 50 cannot access the support they need, adding that this was “particularly severe in rural areas like South Devon”.

Earlier this month, the government said its report on adult social care reform, including proposals over long-term funding, was now unlikely to be ready before 2028.

The delay sparked widespread criticism, particularly as the Labour Party pledged to make adult social care reform a priority during last year’s general election.

Ms Voaden urged the government to complete its review by the end of the year, as “people cannot afford to wait for the can to be kicked down the road anymore”.

She said: “Everyone affected by this crisis was waiting for the government’s plan on social care. By 2028 there is a real chance that social care in South Devon will have simply stopped functioning. This review must be completed within the next 12 months.”

Adult social care includes help for older or disabled people with day-to-day tasks such as going to the toilet, eating, getting dressed or washing.

The Lib Dem Party also warned that social care providers would be hit by the government’s increases on employer NI contributions, citing the case of Rowcroft Hospice in Torquay, which will allegedly have to raise a further £225,000 to cover these additional costs.

New research by the House of Commons Library also shows that two of South Devon’s 26 care homes require improvement and that their number has shrunk since 2018, when there were 29 in the area.

On the upside, there are also fewer care homes requiring improvement, having dropped from seven in 2018 to just two in 2024. The remaining 24 were also classed as ‘good’ and none rated as ‘inadequate’.

However, with demand outstripping supply and half of Devon County Council’s (DCC’s) budget reportedly allocated to support adults in need, Ms Voaden said the figures showed people were “not getting the quality of care they deserve”.

According to the latest Skills for Care report, there are 131,000 unfilled jobs in the care sector – equating to 8.3 per cent, which is higher than for the NHS (6.9 per cent) and the wider UK economy.

Devon’s problems are especially acute. According to a recent DCC report, Devon has proportionately more older people compared to the England average.

It said that across Devon, people living in the poorer neighbourhoods on average “tend to die between five and seven years earlier that people living in more affluent neighbourhoods”, adding that the difference in life expectancy “is even more stark in smaller areas...where there is a staggering 15-year difference”.