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Social care is facing a budget shortfall of £1.23bn by 2014/15 due to cuts in local authority grants.
In a report published today the Kings Fund think tank warned that as local government is acing a 27 per cent reduction in its overall grant, social care will be vulnerable to competing local priorities.
And the report said that even "relatively modest" reductions in social care spending by councils would lead to a sharp rise in older people going without support to remain at home and would place extra demands on informal carers.
There are also concerns that reductions in home care and support could lead to an increase in the number of hospital admissions.
"This is the biggest financial challenge that the NHS has faced in its history," the report claims. And it suggests that as funding for social care is not ring fenced it could lead to a post-code lottery in levels of care.
"The financial fortunes of both the NHS and adult social care are intertwined and much will depend on the particular circumstances of each council as to whether reductions in services can be avoided."
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