In England, providing adult social care is the responsibility of unitary authorities, metropolitan district councils, county councils and London borough councils.
Kirsty’s council, Trafford in Greater Manchester, had a 45% net service spend on adult social care in 2024-25, which was higher than the England-wide figure of 41%.
Only 24 other councils spent a higher proportion on adult social care. The BBC’s analysis does not include spending on education, as its funding is ring-fenced.
For Kirsty, now 56, accessing adult social care was not easy. On day one of Jim’s diagnosis, she says he told her: “I want you to tell our story.”
After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Jim developed other conditions.
He and Kirsty could still find things to laugh about – Jim thought he could do carpentry, but mostly just “did a great line in sawdust”. Their life together was changing though and Kirsty gave up her paid job as a carer to look after him.
“We went from two full-time incomes to nothing. I couldn’t leave him,” she says.