Baroness Louise Casey has been appointed to lead an independent commission, which will provide recommendations for rebuilding the adult social care system.
The government has announced immediate investment and reforms aimed at improving adult social care, supporting the care workforce, and alleviating pressure on the NHS.
As part of immediate action, health secretary Wes Streeting on Friday (3 January) confirmed an additional £86 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant for the current financial year – on top of the £86 million announced at the Budget.
This brings the total annual funding to £711 million, which will help 7,800 more disabled and elderly people make vital improvements to their home, allowing them to live more independent lives and reducing hospitalisations.
Alongside the funding boost, the government is taking steps to mordernise social care, including:
- Leveraging care technology to support older people in living at home for longer
- Cutting red tape to ensure NHS and social care funding is spent effectively
- Improving career pathways for care workers
- Creating new national standards to encourage the use of the best care technology by providers and families.
To further strengthen the sector, care workers will be supported to take on additional responsibilities, such as conducting routine health checks like blood pressure assessments.
The national career structure for care staff will also be expanded, providing opportunities for career progression, skills development, and improving retention.
Furthermore, the government plans to introduce a shared digital platform that will allow up-to-date medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff, ensuring the best possible care for patients.
Streeting said that the investment and reforms will help to “modernise social care, get it working more closely with the NHS, and help deliver our Plan for Change.”
However, he recognises that the aging population, with care costs expected to double over the next 20 years, requires long-term action.
Long term reform
The government is also starting work for long-term reform, with plans to overhaul social care and address the inherited challenges.
A key element of this reform will be the creation of a National Care Service, which will be built on national standards to ensure consistency of care across the UK.
As a first step, an independent commission will be established to inform the work needed to deliver this.
Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB has been appointed to chair the commission, which will make recommendations for how to “rebuild the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population.”
Streeting explained: “The independent commission will work to build a national consensus around a new National Care Service able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st century.
The health secretary has written to opposition parties, inviting them to take part in the commission’ work, and asked Baroness Louise Casey to build a cross-party consensus to “ensure the national care service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years.”
How the commission will work
The commission, which is expected to begin in April 2025, will be carried out in two phases. The first phase, due to report in 2026, will focus on identifying critical issues facing adult social care and recommending medium-term solutions.
The second phase, reporting by 2028, will look at the long-term transformation of the system.
Baroness Casey commented: “An independent commission is an opportunity to start a national conversation, find the solutions and build consensus on a long-term plan to fix the system. I am pleased the Prime Minister has asked me to lead this vital work.”
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said that previous attempts to reform adult social care had failed due to “a destructive combination of party political point-scoring and short-term thinking.”
“Baroness Casey’s commission will build cross-party consensus, and will lay the foundations for a National Care Service that’s rooted in fairness and equality.
“It will tackle both the immediate issues and the fundamental challenges that must be addressed if we are to get our adult social care system back on its feet and fit for the future,” he added.
The government also publishing a new policy framework for the Better Care Fund in 2025/26 soon to support local systems in providing integrated health and social care, improving patient outcomes.
The new framework will allocate £9 billion of NHS and local government funding to meet two health priorities - moving care from hospital to the community and from sickness to prevention.
