Nine in ten councillors back call for social care priority

Councillors have called on the government to give greater priority to social care and start committing more resources to it now.

A new poll for the Local Government Association has found that more than nine in 10 councillors from across the country and political spectrum want the government to give greater priority to social care. The survey of more than 600 councillors showed that 91 per cent agreed with the statement, coming in the wake of the devastating coronavirus pandemic which has exacerbated pre-existing pressures on the system and their consequences for people who draw on care and support.

The LGA said that the results of the survey are another stark reminder of the urgent need for long-awaited proposals on the future of social care and how we fund it to be brought forward at the earliest opportunity and before the summer parliamentary recess.

Ads many as 94 per cent of councillors agreed with Survation for Social Care Future's vision that the function of social care is to ensure that we can all 'live in the place we call home, be with the people and things that we love, in communities where we care about and support each other, doing the things that matter to us.'  These findings build on SCF's earlier polling which showed strong public support for this vision of social care.

David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Social care has been on the frontline throughout the pandemic and there has never been a more crucial time to find a long-term solution to how we support all those who draw upon and work in these vital services. As this survey proves, local councillors across the country and of all political colours are overwhelmingly in favour of social care being a major priority for the Government along with the funding needed to not just get through the pandemic, but to build back better from it.

“As SCF state, we all want to live in the place we call home, be with the people and things that we love, in communities where we care about and support each other, doing the things that matter to us. This is the role of social care and 94 per cent of councillors agree with this vision.

“Millions of people who draw upon or work in the field of social care deserve to know that their and their families' future is secure, after all they have experienced over the past 15 months. We look forward to government bringing forward its proposals as soon as possible and before the summer parliamentary recess.

“The work of Social Care Future over the last two years has been an important contribution to the debate about the kind of social care system we want and need, focusing on what people who themselves draw on social care need for them to live their best lives, which should be at the heart of any future reforms.”