Immediate action is needed on social care as part of a new
long-term plan in the spirit of the post-war reforms, if we are
to build back better from the pandemic and ensure everyone is
able to live their best life, councils say today.
In a new pamphlet setting out the issues
and priorities for social care in light of the pandemic, the
Local Government Association said we need to reimagine the
purpose and value of great social care for all people in all our
communities, with the same zeal and spirit of hope which led to
the creation of the NHS.
This year’s Spending Review and the
Government’s expected publication of its proposals for the future
of care should also address some fundamental questions, including
about what we want social care to be and what kind of care we
want for ourselves and each other. Social care also should be
recognised as part of the solution to building flourishing and
connected communities, in the wake of the
pandemic.
The LGA, which represents councils, said
the experience of the coronavirus pandemic has shown the
consequences of underfunding and the often hidden nature of
social care. The tragic situation in care homes, along with the
disproportionate number of deaths of people with learning
disabilities and those of black, Asian and minority ethnicity
(BAME) backgrounds in the care workforce, are just some of the
ways that a historic lack of national attention has played out in
our communities.
Immediate priorities include funding to
meet the continuing costs of COVID-19 on social care,
particularly on the care workforce and unpaid carers, as well as
investment to tackle the funding gap between the cost of
providing care and what councils pay.
This should help pave the way to a more
properly funded, person-centred form of care that puts people in
control of their lives and recognises their agency. Working
closely with communities and the NHS to invest in prevention,
reduce health inequalities and build on new health and care
partnerships announced in the recent White Paper, this should
ensure health and care services best support people to live the
lives they want to lead in their own homes and
communities.
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s
Community Wellbeing Board, said: “A better future for adult
social care must be one of the legacies of COVID-19, which should
include action on funding, workforce, meeting demand, improving
choice and quality of care.
“We need a ‘1948 moment’ which inspired
the creation of the NHS for the long-term future of social care,
especially in light of the devastating consequences of the
pandemic for those drawing on and working in care and their
families.
“Over the last year, social care has
proven that it is not simply a set of services needed by some
because of age or disability, but a vital way of ensuring all
people are supported to live a full life and maintain
relationships and connections, whatever their circumstances,
spanning various organisations, volunteers and
staff.
“Social care has also shown its value as
an inherently local service, with councils playing a valuable
leadership and coordination role in their communities. Emergency
funding to cope with COVID-19 costs to date has been helpful, but
we need to move beyond ‘more of the same’ and the pre-coronavirus
status quo, to a new era of care which puts more trust in people
who draw on social care, better supports wellbeing, and enables
everyone to live the lives they want to
lead.
“We call on the Government to recognise
this in the forthcoming Spending Review and publish its proposals
for the future of adult social care as soon as possible, before
the summer parliamentary recess.”
