LGA Responds To Government’s Health And Social Care Staff Consultation

Responding to a national engagement exercise with health and social care staff launched by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“Social care staff, as well as NHS staff, go above and beyond in their roles day after day and it is vital that we support them in their demanding work to provide high quality care.

“The social care workforce often feels undervalued, both in general but also in comparison with their NHS colleagues, and we hope this consultation will signal a move from the Secretary of State to change that.

“This engagement exercise follows the public debate we are leading on how to provide a long-term solution to funding adult social care to rescue a system at breaking point due to years of underfunding, rising demand and costs for care and support.

“There is a pressing need to bridge a £3.5 billion funding gap facing adult social care by 2025 just to maintain existing standards of care.

“Action is needed, which is why, following the Government’s postponement of its long-awaited green paper on adult social care, the LGA has published its own green paper to drive forward the public debate on what sort of care and support we need to improve people’s wellbeing and independence and, crucially, how we fund these vital services.”