Social Care Where People, Not Profit, is at the Heart Says NCF

The Panorama programme aired on 6 December 2021 has the National Care Forum says, highlighted the very critical debate needed around what happens to some of the money invested in care.

Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of the NCF said:

“Social care delivers public good, and the majority of it is funded by the public purse. In the future it will be further supported by a hypothecated tax paid for by each and every eligible tax payer. Not-for-profit care provision ensures that all of the funding from either government or citizens is directed towards the delivery of care now and in the future, ensuring that the funding remains in communities and is reinvested to improve the quality of care.

“We strongly advocate strengthening the Government’s reform plans to ensure that the balance of care provision is redirected towards the not-for-profit sector and a set of parallel actions is developed over a ten-year period that strategically shifts public investment into the not-for-profit sector. This action will ensure that the benefits and social and economic value of the not-for-profit sector are fully realised, giving politicians and the public reassurance in their investment in social care.

“The government must engage with this debate and grasp this moment in reform to ensure there is a much higher proportion of not-for-profit services delivering care across all our communities.

“Many not-for-profit organisations providing care and support are charities or social housing providers, meaning they are not just accountable to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) but also the Charity Commission and the Social Housing Regulator. As a result, these organisations, by their very nature, have a very strong culture of accountability, governance, diversity and person-centeredness.

“Charities, housing associations and local government all provide excellent care, and do not take profit out of the organisations that they run. This government has asked the public to help fund the vital care that we all will need in the future, it has asked the public to invest in a future vision of care. It should also listen now to a public that wants assurance that its money is being 100% invested in the communities that they are part of, and the people who need and deliver care. It is time to create a social care sector that is true to the values of the People at the heart of Care vision, and has people, not profit at its heart.”