Social care policy
Social care essentials: the government action needed now
Liz Jones, policy director of the National Care Forum, outlines the immediate action and direction of travel the new government should be taking to reinforce its commitment to building a sustainable social care system for the future
Following the election in July, there was a cautious sense of optimism within the social care sector. Could we be looking at a five-year term with a government that has a significant majority, a set of commitments on social care in their manifesto, and the possibility they may be willing to use their political capital in the pursuit of the recognition and reform of social care? What do we know so far about the
government’s intention in relation to social care? A good place to start is to look at the King’s Speech. This was a package of 40 Bills and draft Bills that had a big focus on putting in place the infrastructure and regulation needed to unlock economic growth while ensuring fiscal responsibility. There were several pieces of legislation that will be relevant to social care providers. The bills of interest to us are the Employment Rights Bill, the Mental Health Bill, the Skills England Bill, the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, and the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We will also want to keep a watching brief on the Renters Reform Bill and the Draft Leaseholder and Commonhold Reform Bill. The Employment Rights Bill and the Mental Health Bill especially will have very direct, significant implications for social care organisations, both as employers and providers of care and support. There are some big gaps in the legislative proposals, though, and we at the National Care Forum have a very clear set of policy priorities for the government to deliver in terms of social care.
Immediate action to stabilise the sector We support the call from the LGA in their recent White Paper1
that the social care
sector needs immediate investment now to stabilise it. In 2023, the Health Foundation estimated2
that meeting future demand,
improving access to care and covering the full cost of care could cost £8bn in 2024/2025, rising to at least £18bn by
October 2024
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
2032/2033. We are a long way from meeting that under current spending plans. Anxiety is starting to build that, far from increasing investment, the pre- budget mood music coming from the government is that the Treasury might be considering cuts – a recent article in The Times suggested that ‘Several departments are understood to have been told to find more than £1bn in savings each, with others ordered to find hundreds of millions of pounds in a cost-cutting drive that goes well beyond an attempt to fund public sector pay rises’.
This is simply unthinkable for the social care budget, and if the message is that there is no more money, then existing budgets need to be reprioritised to support increased
We have a very clear set of policy priorities for the government to deliver
investment in social care. The answer to 14 years of austerity – where there have been significant cuts at the same time as rising demand and delay to social care reform – is not another five years of the same. Social care is far too important to us all to be facing cuts rather than the essential investment it so urgently needs.
Harness the economic benefit and impact of social care As everyone who has anything to do with social care knows, it plays a vital economic role, both nationally and locally. Social care is a large employer, employing over 1.6m people and contributing £55.7bn to the English economy, making it a key sector supporting our economic growth and an essential part of our national infrastructure. A sustainable, well-resourced, and well- functioning social care system is essential to supporting three of the government’s ‘Five missions’ – namely driving economic growth, breaking down barriers to
25
Anthony Brown -
stock.adobe.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
