Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
6
Conclusion
2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: …
Acknowledged
Unpaid carers are bearing the highest cost from successive governments’ failures to reform adult social care. They provide care worth £184 billion, “equivalent to a second NHS”, but this is often unrecognised and comes at great personal, emotional and financial cost as well as a cost to their own health. …
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Unpaid carers are bearing the highest cost from successive governments’ failures to reform adult social care. They provide care worth £184 billion, “equivalent to a second NHS”, but this is often unrecognised and comes at great personal, emotional and financial cost as well as a cost to their own health. Carers can’t do the vital work they do to support the formal system if nobody is caring for them, and the moral and financial case for doing so is clear. We were not able to find official estimates of the cost to the Exchequer of the failure to properly support unpaid carers’ employment opportunities. However, given that one study placed it at £1 billion in 2012 the potential return on investment for supporting unpaid carers could be substantial. (Conclusion, Paragraph 47)
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that publishing cost estimates of delayed discharges would improve transparency and will explore how best to publish this data, acknowledging methodological challenges.
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Department of Health and Social Care
17
Conclusion
2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: …
Acknowledged
Social care is a vital public service in and of itself and should not be valued only for how it supports the NHS. However, the current state of adult social care is imposing significant costs on the NHS. The best estimate we found was that delayed discharges alone are costing …
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Social care is a vital public service in and of itself and should not be valued only for how it supports the NHS. However, the current state of adult social care is imposing significant costs on the NHS. The best estimate we found was that delayed discharges alone are costing almost £1.9 billion. This does not account for other costs such as postponed procedures or admissions that could have been prevented by better social care. If DHSC is to make the best case to HM Treasury for investment in reform of adult social care, it needs to have better data on the impact the status quo is having on one of the Government’s top domestic priorities. (Conclusion, Paragraph 100)
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that publishing cost estimates for delayed discharges would in principle improve transparency but notes methodological challenges. It commits to exploring how best to publish such data, without a firm commitment to immediately produce the comprehensive data requested by the committee.
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Department of Health and Social Care
20
Conclusion
2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: …
Acknowledged
The current state of the adult social care system is undermining the relationship building that is fundamental to the development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). Too much relies on local leadership, where often it feels that progress is made despite funding mechanisms rather than because of them. By maintaining a …
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The current state of the adult social care system is undermining the relationship building that is fundamental to the development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). Too much relies on local leadership, where often it feels that progress is made despite funding mechanisms rather than because of them. By maintaining a system which fosters disputes about money, the ability of ICSs to make the difference they were set up to make will be limited at best, and impossible at worst. (Conclusion, Paragraph 106)
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Government response AI summary
The government states it agrees with the conclusion and highlights its commitment of £9 billion to the Better Care Fund for 2025-26, refocusing it on prevention and community care. However, it does not explicitly commit to addressing how the current social care system undermines ICS …
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Department of Health and Social Care
23
Conclusion
2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: …
Acknowledged
The Government will not succeed in creating an NHS fit for the future unless it effectively reforms the social care system. Social care reform is an integral part of NHS reform and cannot be a separate process. (Conclusion, Paragraph 117)
Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the conclusion by stating the independent commission has autonomy and its first phase will focus on supporting the health mission within ongoing reforms. However, it does not explicitly commit to ensuring social care reform is fully integrated with NHS reform and not …
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Department of Health and Social Care
25
Conclusion
2nd Report - Adult Social Care Reform: …
Acknowledged
The Government needs to fundamentally change how it views the social care sector, seeing it as an enabler and talking about it in those terms in the public debate - both for the invaluable service it provides to so many people and also as a driver of economic growth. We …
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The Government needs to fundamentally change how it views the social care sector, seeing it as an enabler and talking about it in those terms in the public debate - both for the invaluable service it provides to so many people and also as a driver of economic growth. We welcome recent positive words about the potential of the sector and hope that this marks the starting of a broader shift in the narrative. (Conclusion, Paragraph 130)
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Government response AI summary
The government strongly agrees that adult social care is an important enabler for economic growth and contributes significantly to the economy. However, it reiterates that a dedicated 'growth strategy' for the sector is not considered necessary or proportionate, consistent with its response to a related …
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Department of Health and Social Care