Social care chief Andrea Sutcliffe has warned public sector spending cuts and a lack of leadership have left the care system ‘under stress and strain'.

Speaking to the Observer newspaper, the Care Quality Commission's chief inspector of adult social care said the system was under strain, and called on political leaders in both local and central government to recognise its importance and cost.

‘There is an important responsibility in the role of those funding care – local authorities or clinical commissioning groups – to really understand what the true cost of care is, what true quality looks like and to make sure they are commissioning services that meet those standards and providers are given the funding to enable them to do that,' said Ms Sutcliffe.

She said many care workers were working long hours in difficult conditions and for poor pay.

‘That potentially means that they may leave and we do see turnover, but it also may mean that they end up being the sort of care worker that you wouldn't want them to be because the system around them isn't supportive,' she added.

There have been repeated warnings from both the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care (ADASS) and the Local Government Association that the current social care system is under financial strain.

According to ADASS, adult social care budgets have been cut by £4.6bn since 2010.