The House of Lords Adult Social Care Committee today publishes
its call for evidence, and invites the public to share their
views, as part of its new inquiry: ‘Lifting the veil: Removing
the invisibility of adult social care’.
Adult social care provides services for people from young to old;
from those with inherited disabilities from birth to those who
become ill, frail and dependent as they move into later life.
Across these many different conditions and personal
circumstances, people with care needs rely for much of their
support, care and independence on carers; and in many ways, both
the people who draw on care and support and their carers are
largely invisible.
The inquiry will, therefore, consider how that entrenched
invisibility of adult social care impacts on the lives of people
who draw on care and support and the lives of the people who
enable them and care for them. It will explore what needs to
change to create a fair, resilient and sustainable care system
that better enables everyone to ‘live an ordinary life’, and in
doing so, gives individuals choice and control over their lives.
The inquiry will acknowledge the diversity of ambitions and
aspirations that those with specific care needs have for their
lives across every age and consider how adult social care should
best enable them to achieve these different goals.
The Committee will focus on three key issues:
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The invisibility of adult social care, and its
consequences;
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Better support for carers; and
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Putting co-production at the heart of care.
The committee invites all those with an interest in adult social
care, but particularly experts by experience – those who draw on
care and support, and those who care for them to submit written
evidence by 27 May 2022. The full call
for evidence is available on the committee’s website.
, Chair of the Adult Social
Care Committee said:
“While people understand by experience what the health service
does, very few people understand what adult social care is, how
it works and why it matters, until they themselves or their
friends and families are directly affected.
“This relative ‘invisibility’ means that it can be difficult to
bring about positive change on the ground, not least because so
much is so far from sight.
“The nature of invisibility, for example, describes not only the
enormous diversity and different challenges faced by those who
draw on social care, but also the experience of the many millions
of family members and friends across the country who support
their loved ones -young and old - to live their lives, often
providing more care and support than formal services.
“In launching this inquiry, our main purpose is to understand and
recognise how these barriers of invisibility can be dismantled
and how both those who receive different types of support and
care at different ages can meet their aspirations for a full
life, as well as their families and friends who care for
them.
“By listening and learning from those who will share their
experience and knowledge with us, we also seek to reflect on what
the meaning of social care should be and ask how far the system
remains from realising that meaning in the everyday lives of
people who draw on care and of their families. In doing so, we
can challenge the assumption that unpaid care is always an option
and anticipate the need for new forms of care and support.
“We encourage a wide range of witnesses to come forward and
submit evidence, especially those with lived experience, in the
full knowledge that your views are valued and will have an impact
on the future of adult social care in England.”
Notes to editors
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The Adult Social Care Committee is appointed to consider the
planning for, and delivery of, adult social care services in
England.
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More information about the committee is available on
its website.
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