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.