Sector Responds to Government’s Plans for Social Care Reform
Leading associations and spokespersons in the adult social care sector have has responded to the announcement today by the Department of Health and Social Care of an independent commission into social care chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, which will examine issues facing the sector today before recommending changes designed to help “achieve the government’s ambition of creating a ‘national care service’ and based on a cross-party consensus”.
Plans set out in the announcement include:
- Government sets out immediate investment and reforms to improve adult social care and support the workforce.
- Package of support will deliver the government’s Plan for Change by helping to keep older people out of hospital and living at home independently, for longer.
- Thousands more disabled people to receive home adaptations as government improves technology and data sharing between NHS and social care.
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “This announcement acknowledges the decade-long crisis in social care, but it risks becoming yet another report that gathers dust while the sector crumbles. Care providers are doing their utmost to deliver essential care to society’s most vulnerable, yet the challenges they face only keep increasing. While the sector has demonstrated resilience, its repeated calls for help have been ignored, as the Government continues to prioritise reforming the NHS to achieve goals only a fully functioning adult social care system could deliver.
This commission will simply confirm what we already know – how many more reports must we endure before action is taken? The harm caused by the Government’s inaction is already deep, and the consequences for those who currently draw on care will be irreparable if immediate intervention is not forthcoming. Waiting until 2028 is not an option. The people in care today cannot afford to wait any longer – their lives depend on action now. By the time this commission will conclude, any recommendations will likely be delayed until a new Parliament is in place, risking not just a missed opportunity to support individuals now, but potential for a shift in priorities that could leave the sector without the action it so desperately needs.
We are ready to work alongside Baroness Casey and the Government to turn this commission into a catalyst for genuine change. But let’s be clear: the status quo is no longer an option. Every day without action means more vulnerable people are left without the care they urgently need now, while the already overwhelming pressures on the NHS continue to intensify.
This isn’t about politics; it’s about people, and we need the Government to act now. Together, we can fix social care, but we must start today, not tomorrow.”
Care England urges the Government to match the commission with immediate action, including funding support and workforce initiatives, to stabilise the sector while long-term reforms are developed. Without this, the future of social care, and the millions who depend on it, remains at stake.
Carers Trust’s CEO, Kirsty McHugh, said: “It’s great to see the first steps towards reform of social care laid out today. We’re particularly encouraged by the commitment to look at the breadth of social care and not merely social care charges, plus the appointment of Baroness Casey.
“The failure of successive governments to fix social care has moved an unbearable burden onto the shoulders of unpaid carers. There is a real opportunity to make changes that put carer voices and experiences at the heart of plans. This must not be squandered.
“However, there are significant and immediate challenges that cannot be ignored. As pressures mount on carers and the local services that support them, Government action to address financial strain, including the burden of National Insurance Contribution rises, on voluntary sector providers of social care can’t come soon enough.”
Professor Vic Rayner OBE Chair of the Care Provider Alliance says: “The announcement of the Casey Commission is a welcome step in the move towards developing a fully functioning National Care Service.”
“It is hoped that Baroness Casey will be able to move quickly to engage those receiving care and support, their families, the care workforce, those providing and commissioning social care as well as the wider public.”
“For this to be the once in a generation shift needed, then all political parties and wider partners need to start from an understanding that the findings of this review lay out a long-term blueprint for change.”
“Social care matters to us all and this commission must lay to bed the prevarication and delay of both funding and reform that has bedevilled governments over too many years. With this in mind, the commission must move at a more rapid pace.
“We call on the commission to bring forward it’s timetable to allow for real change to happen within a two-year time frame.
“Work on the long term must not distract the government from the very real challenges facing social care right now. The CPA published detailed analysis in November 2024 outlining the critical pressures facing the sector, and it is essential that these issues are addressed now to ensure a sustainable social care sector exists for the future.”
Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK said: “We very much welcome this announcement by the Government to address the social care crisis through both short-term measures and for the future.”
“There are 4.7 million people in England providing a staggering £152 billion worth of unpaid care to a family member, friend or neighbour who is affected by long-term illness, disability or age. Many are under increasing pressure to provide more hours of care than ever before. Without unpaid carers, our health and social care systems would collapse, yet the current lack of support or recognition for what they do is increasingly damaging their health and forcing many to give up their jobs.”
“We are encouraged to see that the Government has recognised the need to ensure that unpaid carers and their families are central to the upcoming consultation and look forward to engaging with the work led by Baroness Louise Casey.”
“As part of the first phase we must see quick and decisive action on any recommendations brought forward by the Commission to improve social care, and Government must ensure that there is sufficient funding in this forthcoming Spending Review to deliver and to prevent further cuts in social care.”
“We also need to see discussions on longer term sustainable funding for social care started as soon as practicably possible so that we are not left with open-ended questions on the future reform of social care as we have done in the past.”
“Carers UK has long called for a new social contract with carers which is fit for the 21st century and this needs to be recognised in any National Care Service. We want to see an ambitious and comprehensive cross-Government national carers strategy to transform the way that unpaid carers are supported by government, with local authorities and the NHS working together to ensure unpaid carers get the support and recognition they so desperately need.”
MHA’s Sam Monaghan, chief executive of one of the country’s largest charitable care providers says. “The Government has recognised that the adult social care sector has long needed investment and reform. We welcome the development of a National Care Service which delivers consistent standards, and access to care, for all older people who need it. To be successful, the independent commission must be action-focused and set a path for how soon, not if, a National Care Service can become a reality.”
“At MHA some of our care colleagues already deliver the kind of extra health care responsibilities the Government is asking for. These proposals need to be backed up with the necessary training, support, guidance, and crucially remuneration for care professionals.”
“MHA does, however, remain deeply concerned that the immediate financial stability of the care provider sector is not being addressed. The upcoming changes to employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) creates yet further pressure on a system already struggling to serve everyone who needs care. Nuffield Trust estimates a £2.8 billion gap created by these changes alone, which is on top of the acknowledged at least £7 billion existing under-funding of the sector each year. This will likely mean fewer services available and less potential to ease pressures on the NHS. We look forward with hope to seeing more detail of the Better Care Fund investment announced today.”
Director of Policy at The Health Foundation, Hugh Alderwick, said: ‘The adult social care system in England desperately needs reform after decades of political neglect and underfunding. So the government’s promise of a plan for social care is welcome. “
‘But we have been here before. The past three decades have seen a long line of reports and reviews making recommendations for social care reform, including from government commissions like the one announced today. The result has been delays and broken promises.”
‘This new commission must move quickly and build on previous policy proposals. Today’s announcement suggests it may be three years before we see recommendations for longer term reform, including to the broken funding system for social care. This risks history repeating itself, with reforms not being implemented and people continuing to suffer.”
‘Many of the problems in social care are well known – as are options for reform. There is no shortage of existing visions for the sector. What’s needed now is political will and long-term investment to finally implement reform and improve the lives of millions of people and their carers. The new commission must be an opportunity to deliver reform – not delay it.’
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: “Far reaching reform and refinancing of social care is long overdue, so today’s announcement is unequivocally good news – it could potentially finally break the logjam that has stood in the way for many years. We say ‘potentially’ because while we’ve no doubt Baroness Casey will do an excellent job, the real question is whether the Government will act decisively on her conclusions. In this respect history is discouraging, but it’s imperative that the current administration breaks the mould and puts the commission’s recommendations fully into practice.”
“The most sensitive issue of how to fund the social care needs of our rapidly ageing population is not set to be addressed until the second phase of the commission and this is a major concern, partly because today’s older people do not have time on their side but also because who knows what the state of the world, our politics or our economy will be by then. The risk is that future events prevent the progress we desperately need to see and the more long drawn out the commission is, the greater the risk will be. Even if all goes well the reality is that it will be the early 2030s before older people and their families get substantial benefit from a transformed approach to social care – fully thirty years after Japan and Germany modernised their social care systems. That’s a source of profound regret and it leaves today’s older people and their families to make the best of a system that is widely agreed to be letting many down.”
“Social care needs help now and it’s crucial that this year’s Spending Review directs significant additional investment into services, both to stabilise them and to provide a platform for some reform to begin straight away. For example, whatever the model of care for the promised National Care Service turns out to be, there’ll certainly be a need for enough care professionals to staff it, so the Government should get on immediately with strengthening the care workforce.”
Nuffield Trust Deputy Director of Policy Natasha Curry said: “Today’s announcement of an independent commission is welcome recognition of the reform that social care so desperately needs. The focus on the challenges experienced by both older people and working age adults is a particularly positive step. The ambition to implement comprehensive reform over the medium and longer term, as part of a phased plan, is understandable but more urgent support for social care must also be forthcoming.”
“We welcome the additional funding and the measures designed to support the sector in the shorter-term. But we remain concerned that this is still insufficient given the immense financial pressure that the sector is under. Social care is facing soaring costs as a result of increases to the National Living Wage and Employer National Insurance Contributions and needs more funding just to keep pace with demand for social care services.”
“The reality is that over the last 30 years, numerous social care commissions and reviews have set out ambition to achieve lasting reform but failed to deliver due to a lack of sustainable funding and political will. The Spending Review is an important opportunity for this government to make a marked break with the past, and commit the necessary investment into social care.”
Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive at The King’s Fund said: ‘We welcome the announcement of a commission on adult social care and the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock to lead it. This could offer a real opportunity to break the cycle of failure to reform social care.
‘We believe the first phase of the commission should focus on funding and on measures the government could quickly get on with implementing, such as work to improve the use of data and technology in the social care sector, better integration with the NHS and making adult social care a more attractive career. Work on many of these issues is already underway but should be sped up.
‘But we urge the government to accelerate the timing of the second phase of the commission which focuses on creating a fair and affordable social care system. The current timetable to report by 2028 is far too long to wait for people who need social care, and their families.
‘The most fundamental issue to reforming social care is addressing the very tight means test which effectively limits state support to those with the lowest assets and highest needs. The issues and the potential solutions to this are clear and do not require years to consider.’
