Social care needs a reset, say council leaders

The Local Government Association has warned that social care needs a reset and must not simply revert back to the way it was prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

The association has joined with 32 other organisations – including the Alzheimer’s Society, NHS Confederation and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, to outline a set of key principles which they say must underpin reform of social care and support considering the many lessons learned from the pandemic.

One year after Prime Minster Boris Johnson first pledged to set out a clear plan to ‘fix social care’, the organisations insist that the government needs to publish its timetable for social care reform before Parliament returns from summer recess in September.

The principles indicate that the legacy of the coronavirus outbreak, which has disproportionately affected our older and most vulnerable people, means that a radical rethink is needed of what we want social care to be and how we can help achieve it. Any such plan, they argue, should take account of the long-held issues facing social care prior to the pandemic and crucially, what we have learnt during the current crisis. They also urge for the government to work closely with councils and local partners to ensure social care’s role in supporting healthy, resilient communities based on prevention, wellbeing and public health is fully understood and maximised.

The seven principles cover vital aspects of every part of social care, support and well-being, including: putting people first; the importance of social care’s local dimension; adequate and sustainable funding; supporting the care workforce; how care is provided and commissioned; health and integration; and the scope of care and support reform.

James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “For too long we have been promised a plan to fix the social care crisis but people who use and work in these vital services are still waiting. The Covid-19 crisis has proved that we need a complete reset, not a restart, when it comes to the future of social care. The pandemic has also served to highlight the incredibly valuable role of social care in its own right and why it is more important than ever before that we find a long-term and sustainable solution, so that people of all ages can live the life they want to lead.

“These seven principles, which have support from a number of prominent organisations across the health and care sector, need to inform and underpin the government’s thinking on the future of adult social care in this country. Everyone who has been involved in dealing with the dreadful effects of this disease, including older people, unpaid carers, the most vulnerable and those who support them, deserve to know that the lessons learned will be used in shaping the future.

“This should mean care and support is properly based around every individual, keeping them safe, well and as independent as possible, and in their own home and community for as long as possible. We urge the government and other parties to begin cross-party talks on the future of adult social care, so we can get on with the job of realising our shared ambition of supporting people to live the lives they want to lead.”

Before the pandemic, adult social care services faced a funding gap of almost £4 billion by 2025.