Social care leaders tell government to 'act now' and deliver social care reforms

Social care leaders have written to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asking them to ‘act now’ to reform the social care system and to publish its proposals before the Summer Recess.

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Care England, Social Care Institute for Excellence and Care Provider Alliance have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Matt Hancock setting out three priority areas for action.

As a first step, they want government to ‘urgently address’ short-term funding challenges, which have been worsened by Covid-19. They argue an immediate injection of money is needed to enable short-term stability and avoid potential serious risks.

Secondly, the letter urges the government to bring forward proposals for longer-term investment and reform as an ‘immediate priority to create a simpler, fairer system’ but warn that any additional funding that is made available to social care and should not be used for ‘pre-COVID-19 status quo.’

Instead the funding should be targeted on action such as ‘more home, housing and community focused, asset-based, inclusive and preventative models of care.’

Thirdly, the letter calls for investment in the short term to speed the shift towards a system of social care that is both sustainable and fit for the modern age. including

• A targeted fund enabling councils and their partners to make a rapid shift towards prevention.

• A new deal for the care workforce, including personal assistants and other non-traditional workforce roles.

• Funding support for action on inequalities and levelling up.

• An innovation fund to enable local authorities to harness the true potential of technology.

It said: ‘Transforming social care so that it is sustainable and helps enable people with care and support needs to be fully included in their communities matters in its own right. More broadly, as we look to recover from the pandemic, we need to see social care as a key part of the solution and a key part of our infrastructure.’ The care leaders state each of these actions is essential for creating a social care system where it can be an ‘equal partner with the NHS and enable more people to remain independent, living in their own home or in their community.’

The government has said it plans to publish its reform proposals before the end of the year.

To read the letter click here