Responding to the National Audit Office report Reforming
adult social care in England, Nuffield Trust Deputy Director
of Research, Natasha Curry said:
“The NAO report paints a bleak picture of the state of reform in
the adult social care sector and is a damning indictment of the
government’s progress towards delivering change. Despite bold
promises, we have seen social care yet again deprioritised.
“Against the laudable aspirations set out in the 2021 social care
white paper, progress has been glacial, with budgets
significantly underspent and most projects behind schedule. Major
parts of reform plans, such as changes to how people are charged
for care, were derailed by the need to redirect funding to cover
immediate inflationary pressures and plans to improve services
have stalled. The multitude of problems in the sector persist:
unstable provider markets, long waiting lists, workforce
shortages, and most importantly people struggling to access the
care and support they need.
“Unstable sporadic funding has continued a pattern of
short-termism and has undermined any attempts at long-term
strategic planning. This has been compounded by a lack of a
coherent plan for how to achieve the ambitions set out. This is a
far cry from the ‘fix’ to social care pledged in the government’s
2019 manifesto.
"We have repeatedly called for a long-term vision for adult
social care, backed with a clear strategy for how to get there,
and crucially, the funding certainty that moves away from
short-term pots and gives the sector the stability it so
desperately needs. Today’s report adds further weight to that
call.”
